Thousands Year Fairytale
by ConnorArlington
Summary: Garnet's always felt a little strange around Pearl. She always glances at her for an extra second, unsuspiciously observing her subtle, yet apparent features. Her soft, radiant, white skin, her grace. Garnet's falling for her, but will Pearl feel the same? When another gem arrives in Beach City, the team is nearly torn apart. Will the Crystal Gems learn what it truly means to love?
1. Prologue: Sand

Rose Quartz stood atop the hill, doing her best to tend the moss, but her stomach often got in the way.

"Just let me help you, Rose!" Amethyst insisted. "It's not good for you to be putting all this stress on yourself... E-Especially with the baby coming soon..." She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut a moment. Rose's pregnancy was often a sensitive topic.

Rose sighed in defeat. "Alright..." Rose relented. "If you insist." She flinched slightly, placing a hand on her swollen midsection. "Ow..."

"Rose, are you okay?" Amethyst asked. "You've been hurting all day.. Maybe we should get you inside..."

"Amethyst... It's time."

"What?! No no no no no! I-It can't be! It can't have already been ni-"

"Amethyst! It's okay.. Really."

"Bu... But you'll never meet him!"

"It's okay... It's worth it... To create a life.."

Amethyst scooped Rose up off the ground and into her arms. "PEARL! GARNET!" She ran back to the beach house as fast as she could, not collected enough to shape shift.

Pearl ran out of the house. "What?! What is it?! Rose! Amethyst, lay her down on the ground, there's no time!"

Amethyst skidded across the ground to a stop, gently lying Rose on the cold sand. "I'm sorry it couldn't be better..."

Pearl knelt down beside Rose, gently squeezing her hand. "You're going to be okay, Rose. Garnet, go get Greg! Hurry!"

Garnet nodded silently and launched herself in the air towards the boardwalk, having no time to run.

-A Few Hours Later-

Rose Quartz disappeared, her place being taken by a small, screaming baby boy, and a gem.

Greg quickly picked him up, wrapping him in a blanket and cradling him until he fell asleep.

"Sh-She's really gone..." Pearl stammered, her eyes watery at the loss of her best friend.

"No, she's not." Garnet declared, staring out across the water. "Her gem is still intact, and she lives on through her child, and through the memories in our hearts. Someday, she'll regain her physical form. Until then, we take care of the child. He is one of us now." Garnet removed her glasses and wiped her eyes, trying to stay collected, even though she'd moved the others to tears. Moments later, after somewhat collecting themselves, they all stood and made their way into the house, no one else saying a word as Greg laid the child in the crib set up in the living room.

The night of the birth of Steven Quartz Universe was a bittersweet one indeed.

* * *

-Morning-

Greg was awakened early the next morning by his son's cries, and dutifully rose to his tasks, taking him out of the crib and carrying him along to the kitchen as he prepared him a bottle.

"Hush, precious Steven..." He murmured, gently stroking his hair.

"Are you doing alright with him, Greg?" Pearl asked, standing near the counter.

Greg turned around. "Uh, yeah, I got it. Did I wake you up?"

"No, you didn't..." She answered.

"Do you want to hold him?"

"I don't know…" She hesitated. "I-I've never dealt with children before.."

"It's easy. You just gotta keep his head up on your elbow. Like this." He placed Steven in her arms, gently pushing her elbow up in the proper position.

Pearl panicked slightly. "What if I drop him?!"

"You won't drop him, Pearl. Just stay calm, and he'll be just fine. I'll be right here to help you." Greg assured her. "See? You've got it."

She took a deep breath and focused on keeping her elbow in the proper place, smiling softly as she watched him sleep, his breathing putting her at ease.

For the next two months, that's how it went. Greg and Pearl would mainly take care of Steven, and Garnet and Amethyst would help out occasionally.

But then Greg had to leave.

"Are you sure you'll be okay without me here, Pearl?"

"Yes, Greg. Everything will be just fine here. Go and enjoy your final tour."

"Thank you... For everything.." He kissed the top of Steven's head and handed him back to Pearl, then picked up his guitar and headed off.

* * *

-Later That Day-

Pearl sat on the couch, cradling Steven as he drank the milk from his bottle, smiling down upon his angelic face. Why such beauty had such a high price, she didn't understand, but she was grateful for him. At least she had something left of Rose..

"Pearl... Are you okay?" Garnet asked, taking a seat beside her, awkwardly putting her arm around her, not entirely sure what to do. "Y-You're crying..."

"Am I?" She sniffled slightly and rubbed her eyes, a little surprised by the resulting moisture on her wrist. "I guess I am..." She chuckled softly. "I didn't notice."

"You've taken all this the hardest... But you're doing really well with him."

Pearl glanced up at her a moment. "It was easier with Greg here... What will we do on missions? We certainly can't take him along, and we can't leave him alone..."

"Amethyst can stay here with him." Garnet responded.

"Amethyst?!" She nearly gasped with horror. "But she's incredibly irresponsible!"

"Just on missions, Pearl." She reassured her. "Besides, I think she'll be okay. Besides, it's our only choic e. Your sparring skills are highly valuable, and we can't go without that. We can just barely spare Amethyst. But it definitely won't be easy."

"And I'll protect you..." Garnet thought.

Pearl nodded. "We can handle it."

Garnet stood up. "I'll go and let Amethyst know." She headed off towards Amethyst's bedroom.


	2. Chapter One: First Mission

Garnet walked out of her room, making her way towards the kitchen. She was careful not to wake Steven or Amethyst, because if Steven or Amethyst was cranky, everyone else generally suffered. Especially if it was Steven.

As expected, Pearl was in the kitchen, cleaning up after the currently sleeping Gems, washing up plates and bottles and putting them on the drying rack.

"Morning, Pearl." She murmured politely, watching discreetly as she stepped about the kitchen. Every step seemed to be planned, like a dance, and her pink tulle skirt would whisper across her long, pale, legs as she moved. Her hair was neat, as always, and her soft features glowed in the pale light of the rising sun that leaked in through the windows.

"Hello, Garnet." Pearl chirped, tearing Garnet out of her daze. "You're up early."

She shrugged slightly. "It's been quite calm lately.. Not much to meditate about."

Pearl nodded, wetting a rag to wipe the countertops. "I don't expect it to last, but it's nice.".

"You need help with anything?" Garnet asked, having nothing else productive to do.

"I've got it." She answered. "You're free to spend your day however you like."

Garnet nodded slightly, just standing there and observing Pearl's motions. Something inside of her stirred ever so slightly, but she ignored it, as she'd always done.

Pearl looked at her, confusion written across her face. "Usually when I tell Amethyst she doesn't have to help with the chores she runs for the hills.." She chuckled faintly.

"She treats you like a servant, Pearl... That's not right." She crossed her arms, unhappy.

"It's fine, Garnet. I don't mind. Somebody's got to keep things managed around here."

"She could at least help a little bit.."

"It's fine. Really. And even if she did help, I would probably have to do it again because she's do it wrong." She laughed a little bit. "This way is easier."

Garnet sighed slightly. "Alright then..."

"Is something bothering you, Garnet?" Pearl questioned in her gentle tone, briefly studying Garnet's expression. She looked upset about something.

She shrugged. "It just doesn't seem right to me, but if you're okay with it, then..."

"It's fine. Someone has to do it." She went back to her work, feeling a little off. Nobody had ever questioned that before, and she'd never really thought about it.

Oh well.

* * *

Garnet ran out the door of her room. "There are Centipeetles attacking the boardwalk. We need to get over there before anyone gets hurt."

"Alright!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Let's go whoop some Centipeetle butt!"

"Amethyst, you need to stay behind and watch Steven." Pearl said, drawing her spear from her gem.

"What?! Why me?!" She groaned.

"Because." Garnet said. "Someone has to stay behind. We can't leave Steven alone. Come on, Pearl. Let's go." She ran out of the door, activating her gauntlets with her gems.

Centipeetle crawled around the docks of Beach City's boardwalk, gnawing at the wooden beams, slanting it towards the ocean. Citizens ran amok, their shrill, terrified tones mixing with the low growls of the Centibeetles, and the splashing of those falling into the sea.

Garnet launched herself in the air, locking her fingers together and outstretching her arms, her gauntleted fists smashing the head of the Centipeetle below her, all while keeping sight of Pearl.

Pearl gripped her spear tightly, swinging and striking the contour of the creature's body, bubbling it's surrendered gem, oblivious to the others swarming around her.

"Pearl!" Garnet yelled. "Look out!"

She charged in her direction, punching their heads in with her gauntleted fists.

Pearl cried out in surprise, stabbing at the creatures swarming at her ankles. "Get off! Shoo!"

"Are you alright?" Garnet asked, bubbling the gem of the last fallen Centipeetle.

Pearl nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's help the people out of the water." She slowly made her way to the crooked section on the boardwalk, kneeling down on the end, reaching her hand down to help the little girl stuck in the water.

"Are you alright?" She asked, creating a towel with her magic and wrapping it around her shoulders, watching her shiver as water dripped down over her dark skin and hair.

Another little girl, identical in appearance, ran towards them.

"Jenny!" She shouted, extending her arms out, then throwing them around the other girl. "Are you okay?! Did those big bugs bite you?!"

The girl shook her head. "No they didn't."

She nodded frantically and hugged Pearl's legs. "Thank you for saving my sister!" She exclaimed, then grabbed her twin's hand and ran off.

Pearl chuckled softly, picking up the dropped towel and magicking it away, then went to look for Garnet. She spotted her on the other end and started to walk towards her, nearly falling off the wet, slanted planks into the sea.

"Is everyone out of the water?" Pearl asked, scanning her eyes over the area.

Garnet nodded, deactivating her gauntlets. "Yeah. Everyone's out. Good job, Pearl."

"Thanks. You too." She magicked her spear away. "Who's going to clean all this up?"

"The Mayor will take care of it. We should head back. I'm not sure how I feel about leaving Amethyst alone with Steven." She started off towards the beach house, glancing back at Pearl every so often. She didn't understand the constant desire to protect her, but didn't think much of it. She was the leader, after all, and a good leader watches after their comrades.

* * *

Amethyst huffed as Pearl and Garnet left the house. Why should she have to stay back and babysit? Why wasn't she important enough to not be left behind?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Steven's crying, and she dutifully trudged upstairs, and lifted him from his crib. "What's the matter, kiddo?" She asked, ruffling his hair slightly and carrying him back downstairs. She set him gently on the floor and handed him a teddy bear, chuckling as he squealed and stuffed the ear into his mouth, gnawing on it. She picked her comic book up off the table and glanced up at him occasionally, only to find he hadn't moved and was still playing with the bear.

"Amethyst!" Pearl exclaimed, walking through the door. "You're supposed to be watching Steven!"

"I _am_ watching Steven. See? He's **right there**." She tilted her head towards Steven, who was still in front of her, and gave Pearl an annoyed look.

"No you're not, you're reading."

Amethyst scoffed. "I can do both. It's not like he's going anywhere."

"What if something happens to him?!"

"He's playing with his teddy bear! How could something happen?!"

Pearl clenched her fists. "He could cho-"

"That's enough, you two." Garnet interrupted. "Steven's not old enough yet to crawl or walk, but when he gets to be, which will be soon, you have to keep your eye on him all the time, Amethyst."

"Yeah, I know." Amethyst rolled her eyes. "If Pearl wouldn't be so uptight and actually let me say something before she gets all bitchy, then there wouldn't be a problem."

Pearl folded her arms and glared. "I am most certainly **not** bitchy!"

"That's **enough**." Garnet scooped Steven up off the floor, hushing him, and handing him back his bear. "You're frightening Steven. If you absolutely have to quarrel, take it outside."

Pearl huffed and walked off to her room, muttering angrily to herself, and Amethyst did the same, leaving Garnet alone with Steven, who soon began to cry.

Garnet walked over towards Pearl's room and knocked on the door lightly. "Pearl? Where did you put Steven's bottles?"

Pearl opened up her door, walking out towards the kitchen. "They're in the cupboard above the refrigerator, just like always." She opened the cupboard door and starting preparing the bottle, squeezing a few droplets on her wrist to make sure it wasn't too warm before handing it to Garnet.

The skin underneath Pearl's eyes was slightly darkened, and the corners of her eyes were reddened.

"I'm sorry Amethyst causes you such grief..." Garnet said, keeping Steven upright as she fed him the bottle.

"Amethyst is right, Garnet... I just get so worried about Steven.. If something were to happen, I would be breaking my promise to Rose..." Her voice cracked, and she choked on a cry.

Garnet set Steven down on the floor and went over to Pearl, gently wrapping her arms around her. "Nothing bad will happen to him. Amethyst wouldn't let that happen. She's not _that_ irresponsible..."

Pearl gently cried into Garnet's chest, her body trembling with all the tears she'd held in for so long. "M-Maybe I-I should stay back on the missions.. A-And take care of S-Steven."

"Pearl... We can't spare you in battle... I'm sorry.."

"Amethyst could use her shapeshifting.. And turn into a spear.." She knew that it was hopeless, but still she protested.

"A spear is useless with no one to yield it... Amethyst watching Steven is our only option right now, until we can find someone who can run over here on demand to watch him while we're on missions and we can all go."

"I wish Rose were still here..."

Garnet rubbed her back slightly, trying to ease her trembling. "We all do... But there's nothing we can do unless we can reach the Gem planet."


	3. Chapter Two: Bittersweet Sunshine

**Spelling errors in this chapter are mostly intentional.**

"I-I'm sorry about your shirt.." Pearl murmured, sniffling and rubbing her eyes.

"No problem." Garnet smiled slightly, glad that Pearl was feeling a little better.

"I'm going to put Steven to bed." She carefully picked him and his bear up off the carpet near the counter where Garnet had set him, seeing that he was already asleep. She tip-toed up the stairs and laid him in his crib, gently kissing his forehead.

"Goodnight, Steven.." She murmured, closing the door most of the way and went off to her bedroom.

 **-Two Years Later** -

Pearl stood in the kitchen, packing all of Steven's bottles into a cardboard box, as he no longer needed them.

"Our little baby's growing up, hmm?" Garnet said, helping make sure all the bottles were collected.

Pearl nodded sadly. "It's all happened so fast, Garnet... How is he already two?"

"Years can start to feel like weeks once you've lived for several thousand..." She chuckled slightly, glancing out the window, watching Steven play with Amethyst.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right... But still..."

"What do you think we should do with all of these bottles?" Garnet asked, closing and taping the boxes.

"I guess we should keep them in the attic... Steven will probably have children of his own someday..."

Pearl responded, labeling the boxes with permanent marker.

"Pearw!" Steven shrieked, running up to her and hugging her legs. "Up! Up!"

Pearl chuckled and picked him up, resting him on her hip. "Hello, Steven."

"Amethwyst can turn into a ball!" He announced, his eyes and starry wide in excitement.

"I saw that." She smiled down at him.

"Can you do that?!"

"I don't shape-shift, Steven."

"Okay." He started to fidget, and Pearl let him down, chuckling softly as he ran back outside to Amethyst. Much to her surprise, Amethyst had proven herself to be a good babysitter for Steven over the years, and they trusted her alone with him.

"Amethwst!" Steven squealed, running across the sand towards her. "I wanna go swimming!"

Amethyst shifted back to her normal self. "You'll have to ask Pearl. I don't know where your life jacket is." She picked him up and carried him back to the house. "Pearl, where's Steven's swimming stuff?"

"In his bedroom, where it always is. Top dresser drawer."

She nodded and headed upstairs, helping Steven into his swimsuit and life jacket. She tossed a towel over her shoulder and carried him back down, setting him down by the door.

Steven ran out towards the water, giggling and squealing in delight as the water splashed his legs. Amethyst sat in the sand beside him, flicking droplets of water at him.

"Hey!" Steven exclaimed.

"What?" Amethyst asked innocently. "I didn't do anything..."

Steven giggled and splashed water towards Amethyst, ducking and squealing when she retaliated, then went onto playing with the mud.

She glanced away for a moment, looking up at the sky. The clouds were dark with rain, but as long as it didn't storm, she figured they'd be okay.

Watermelon Tourmaline swam towards them, keeping itself hidden below the waves. It saw that Amethyst was distracted and took it's chance, swimming up to Steven and taking his arm in it's mouth.

Steven laughed and squealed. "Fishy!" He shouted gleefully, unaware of any danger.

Amethyst looked over towards him. "What's so fu-" She gasped in horror. "STEVEN!" She pulled him away from Watermelon Tourmaline, wincing as it's spines dug into her shoulder, piercing her skin.

Pearl and Garnet ran out of the house.

"STEVEN!" Pearl shouted, taking him from Amethyst's arms and bringing him into the house, running up the stairs and setting him in his crib, watching the fight through the second floor window.

Amethyst drew her whip and lashed at the creature. "GET BACK!" She shouted, lashing it repeatedly across the face.

Watermelon Tourmaline roared, turning and jabbing Amethyst with it's spines.

Garnet launched her gauntlets at it, but it's spines deflected and crashed into her abdomen. She crashed into the sand and skidded backwards toward the house, lightly thunking her head on the wall as she stopped.

"Garnet!" Pearl yelled, running through the house towards the door.

"No! Stay inside with Steven!" She ordered. "I'll be okay!" She reattached her gauntlets and launched herself into the air, ignoring the pain in her spine as she charged downwards towards it. The spines deflected her once again, and Garnet was sent flying into the ocean. Watermelon Tourmaline then turned it's focus toward Amethyst, blasting her backwards into the sand.

Amethyst coughed and screamed. "Pearl! Help!"

"I can't leave Steven alone!" Pearl shouted. "You'll have to take him down on your own!"

Amethyst spit sand out of her mouth. "Throw your spear through the window! We have to pop the fish!"

"Steven could get hurt!" She protested, her heart pounding and breath heavy with panic.

"Just do it! Can't you shield him?!" Amethyst ran back towards him, lashing with no result. "Hurry!"

"A-Alright!" She summoned her spear and hurtled it through the window, and making sure no glass shards hit Steven, just a split second before Amethyst jumped into it's path. "AMETHYST! LOOK OUT!" She ran out of the house, but she was too late.

The spear sliced through Amethyst's stomach, going all the way through her, then popping and destroying Watermelon Tourmaline, it's gem landing in the sand.

"AMETHYST!" Pearl quickly knelt down beside her. "I-I'm so sorry!" She sobbed. "I-I didn't mean to hit you!"

Amethyst coughed. "I'll be fine, P. I'll just regenerate, and I'll be all better again." She groaned, her blood spilling out onto the sand.

Pearl just continued to cry, choking out her apologies over and over again, burying her face in her hands.

"Pearl... It's gonna be fine. It was just an accident. Don't worry about me. I'll be back, okay?" Her human form diminished into dust, and her gem lay on the sand, glimmering in the pale light of the setting sun.

Pearl bubbled the Watermelon Tourmaline and sent it away, picking Amethyst's gem up and carried her inside, setting it delicately on the counter and leading against it, burying her face in her hands. She knew Amethyst would come back, but that didn't stop her guilt. She was still responsible.

Steven pulled off his life jacket and slipped out of his crib, carefully making his way downstairs.

"Pearw?" He asked. "Why are you cwying? Where's Amethwst and Garnet?"

Pearl picked him up. "Amethyst got hurt, Steven. And I don't know where Garnet is."

Steven wiped her tears away. "Amethwst and Garnet wiww be okay. Don't cwy."

She hugged him tightly. "Oh, Steven..." She murmured, sniffling slightly.

"Pearw, I'm hungwy." Steven said, wrapping his arms around her neck.

"Alright. I'll get you some food." She sat him down in his high chair and buckled him in, taking a jar of applesauce out of the cupboard and opening it, getting out a spoon. She pulled out a stool and sat across from him, dipping the spoon in the jar.

"I wanna do it mysewf!" Steven protested.

"Alright." Pearl handed him the spoon. "Just don't make a mess, okay?"

Steven nodded and ate his applesauce, just barely managing not to make a mess.

Garnet walked in through the doorway, dripping wet.

"Garnet!" Steven squealed, waving his spoon in the air.

Pearl grabbed a towel from the cabinet and handed it to Garnet.

"Thanks... Where's Amethyst?"

Pearl's eyes watered. "A-Amethyst... Has to regenerate..." She choked. "A-And it's my fault."

"She'll be okay, Pearl." Garnet reassured her, resting her arm gently on her shoulders. "This stuff happens to her all the time."

"Yes, but I've never been responsible for it! I feel so awful..."

"She's okay, Pearl. She'll be back, and everything will be alright again."

"I know..." She murmured. "A-Are you okay? You got launched pretty far..."

"I think my spine's messed up from hitting the sand, but I'll be okay."

"You should probably regenerate... It's only going to get worse."

"I'll be okay. It wouldn't be good to leave you alone, in case something happens."

"It's not worth risking your health... If your spine doesn't get fixed your body could be badly damaged." She lifted Steven up out of his highchair and set him on the floor.

Garnet shook her head. "What if something attacks us again? What'll happen to Steven if no one's here with him?"

"We can bring him to Greg." Pearl answered.

"Greg lives in a van, Pearl. That's not safe for him. Me staying here is the only option. Just until Amethyst regenerates. Then I'll go."

"Alright..." Pearl relented. "Just don't hurt yourself anymore than you already have. No heavy lifting, and don't lie on your back."

Garnet nodded. "I won't. You'd better put him to bed. He's getting fussy. And get him out of those wet clothes. He'll get sick."

Steven sneezed loudly, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

"Too late for that.." Pearl muttered, picking him up and carrying him to his room. "Goodnight, Garnet."

"Goodnight, Pearl." Garnet walked off to her room, putting the towel in the laundry basket on her way.

"Let's get you out of those wet clothes." Pearl murmured, pulling a pair of pajamas out of Steven's dresser. She changed him into his pajamas and laid him down, laying the blanket over him and handing him his teddy bear.

"Goodnight, Steven."


	4. Chapter Three: The Shadows

-Two Weeks Later-

Pearl walked out of her room, heading upstairs to take Steven out of his crib, since he was most likely awake. She looked inside and gasped, seeing it was empty.

She rushed back down the stairs, halting in shock once she reached the lower floor. There was Amethyst sitting at the counter, helping Steven eat his oatmeal.

"Amethyst!" She exclaimed, flustered with anger and relief. "You scared me half to death!"

Amethyst looked at her, not impressed. "I've been back for six hours, P. You should really pay more attention."

Pearl scoffed. "You could have told me that you were back."

She shrugged. "Yeah, I could have, but I decided not to. Besides, I figured Steven missed me."

"At least you're not causing trouble.." Pearl muttered.

"Amethyst." Garnet walked into the kitchen. "You're back. It's good to see you again."

"Pearl sure doesn't have the same attitude." She rolled her eyes and set the now empty bowl on the counter and took Steven from his highchair, setting him on the counter and cleaning off his face.

"I went upstairs to get Steven and he wasn't in his crib. I thought someone had taken him." Pearl sighed. "But now that Amethyst is here, you really should heal your back, Garnet."

"I'll be fine." Garnet said. "It's getting better on it's own."

Pearl persisted. "But if something attacks-"

"I'll stay here with Steven if anything happens. It's mostly healed up, so if anything happens I'll be able to fight again."

"Am I still stuck on babysitting duty?" Amethyst groaned, annoyed by all the action and ass-whooping she'd be missing.

"Yes." Garnet answered. "We've been over this multiple times. Unless we absolutely cannot handle a situation without you, you stay with Steven. You have the most important job. You shouldn't be complaining."

"Yeah, okay." Amethyst set Steven on the floor and followed him to wherever he went, leaving Pearl and Garnet alone again.

Pearl set to washing the dishes, as she usually did, humming softly under her breath.

Garnet pretended to be reading a magazine at the counter, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Pearl. She was flawless and graceful in every action, and her voice, while quiet, was alluring. She seemed to keep perfect time, never faltering or missing a word. She danced as she put the dishes away in their places, delicately spinning on long, glorious legs, outstretching slender arms. She was almost like a china doll in Garnet's eyes- smooth, perfect, beautiful.

Garnet snapped herself from her daze, confused by the pounding in her heart, and the fluttering in her stomach. Her breath had gone, and she was frozen, her eyes locked on the angel before her.

"What's wrong with me?..." Her mind whispered. "Am I ill? Maybe I've caught Steven's cold... Yes, that's it. I'm just ill."

But she wasn't.

-Later That Night-

Black, shapeless monsters circled around the Gems as they stood on the sand with weapons drawn, keeping alert for the monsters. Their presences were felt, but their forms unseen, even with their precise vision.

"Reveal yourselves!" Garnet shouted. "Come out and fight!"

The waves lapped closer to them, coming further into the shore with every move, and the dark monsters gradually grew closer. The water quickly rose to waist level, and then turned to vines around their legs. The dark monsters morphed into a tall, shadowy figure. It was shaped like a person, but had no identifying characteristics. Only a head, arms, legs, and a straight torso. The figure wielded a spear-like object in his right hand. Other figures identical to him stood behind him in a circular type pattern, with their empty arms outstretched.

Wind whirled around them, blasting sand at their faces and into their eyes as they struggled to escape the vines, to no avail.

A shrill scream burst the air as the leading figure advanced, thrusting its weapon into Pearl's shoulders and abdomen to weaken her body, then proceeded to crack her gem. It stepped back and smirked, watching it's created scene of agony unfold.

"PEARL!" Garnet screamed, pulling harder on the vines. "NO!" The wind blew away her glasses, exposing her waterfalls of tears.

Pearl groaned in agony and diminished into nothing, her gem's shards falling into the sand, and being blown away by the winds.

The vines retreated, and the black figures disappeared, the water falling back to it's normal place. Garnet picked up a small shard of the gem and held it delicately in her hands, her tears falling like rain.

"My angel..." She whispered.

-

Garnet awoke in a cold sweat, her breath short. She had never had a dream like that before, on the rare instances when she even dreamed at all.

Tears lightly streamed from her eyes, her breathing racked with gentle sobs.

"Pearl..." She thought, over and over again. "Oh, Pearl..."

She eventually calmed herself, slowly drifting off into a restless, dreamless sleep.

-The Next Morning-

Garnet awoke to the sound of Steven crying and stood up, walking out of her room and up the stairs to get him out of his crib. To her surprise, no one else was awake yet, but it didn't really matter too much. She picked Steven up from his crib, and he immediately silenced, lying his head on Garnet's shoulder.

She lightly kissed his forehead. "Did you have a bad dream too, Steven?" She murmured, carrying him down the stairs.

"Mmm hmm." He said, sniffling slightly.

"You're alright now. I've got you."

He murmured slightly, closing his eyes and falling asleep again, resting peacefully, cradled in Garnet's arms.

She leaned up against the wall by the door, gently stroking his hair, his soft breath putting her at ease. Anxiety floated away, and she was at peace for a while.

-

Pearl walked out of her room, well-kept and angelic as always. She headed towards the stairs, but Garnet stopped her.

"I've already got Steven." She said.

"Oh." Pearl walked towards them. "Is he still asleep?"

Garnet nodded. "He started getting a bit fussy, and he fell asleep on me once I brought him down here."

"I can take him if you want." She offered, standing beside them.

"I've got it. No need to wake him up." She smiled a little. Pearl was always so caring, and it touched her deeply.

Steven murmured and rubbed his eyes, looking up at her. "Garnet, I'm hungwy.." His stomach made a little noise, making Garnet chuckle softly.

"You want some Cheerios?"

Steven nodded eagerly, his eyes bright. "Cheewios! Cheewios!"

Garnet laughed. "Alright, then. Cheerios for Steven." She set him in his highchair, opening the cupboard and taking out the box. She poured some on his tray, watching his little face light up.

"Yay!" He squealed, pushing a fistful of Cheerios into his mouth.

"Be careful, Steven." Garnet warned, pouring him some milk.

Pearl started to panic. "Garnet! He'll choke on those! You have to feed them to him!"

"Calm down, Pearl." She said, setting Steven's cup down beside him. "I'll keep an eye on him. He'll be just fine." She chuckled softly. "You sure love your Cheerios, don't you Steven?"


	5. Chapter Four: It Doesn't End

The setting of the sun soon came around, Garnet's mind engulfed with the memories of the mental terrors she had experienced the night before. What had caused such horrible dreams, she didn't know, but she feared the night ahead. Would her thoughts torment her again as they had, or would she be granted much needed peace?

 _Only time will tell..._ Garnet thought to herself, removing her glasses and sighing softly as she laid down. Restlessly, she stared at the ceiling until her eyes slowly fluttered closed.

Peridot's escape pod landed swiftly in the ocean, creating a wake behind it as cascaded towards the Temple. The gems stood on the beach, with weapons drawn. Their eyes were full of hatred and determination. A teen-aged Steven stood on the shore beside them, holding Rose's Sword, and a small child clung to Pearl's legs, their teardrops falling onto the sand.

"GO BACK HOME, PERIDOT!" Amethyst demanded, her eyes narrowing as she focused in on the moving target.

Garnet grit her teeth in rage, standing in front of Pearl and the child. "Protect the children, at all costs!" She shouted, clenching her fists and launching herself into the air, bringing herself down upon the pod, cracking the windows.

"You'll have to do better than that to stop me, _clod_!" Peridot shouted, increasing her speed and knocking Garnet off her vessel. Garnet swam after her as fast as she possibly could, only inches away from them.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY, PERIDOT! IF YOU WANT A FIGHT, TAKE ME INSTEAD!" She shouted, willing herself to move faster.

Peridot cackled. "It's not you that I want, Garnet." She fired countless lasers at the gems, aimlessly hoping to hit someone.

Pearl used her spear to deflect them. "Get behind me." She shouted to the child, who quickly cowered behind her. Her breathing intensified as she continued to fight, but she showed no signs of tiring.

Garnet leapt onto the escape pod, gripping it tightly with her limbs, sort of straddling it.

Peridot rolled her eyes. "Could you clods get any _less_ predictable?" She maneuvered the pod so it spun around in circles.

"I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY CHILDREN!" Garnet shouted, her limbs and pelvis aching as she strengthened her grip on the pod, which spun faster. She squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth, using all of her willpower to hold on. She lifted a gauntleted fist and slammed it down upon the capsule, repeating the action again and again until she had broken through.

"PEARL! LOOK OUT!" Garnet exclaimed. "DON'T LET THE POD HIT YOU!" She tore Peridot out of it and threw her into the blue, diving in after her immediately. She punched her in the chest, sending her darting towards the ocean floor. She then yanked her back out and catapulted her onto the sand, making her way out of the water and standing over her.

"Don't even bother trying to stand. Move and I'll rip you to pieces." She grabbed the spinning pod by the leg and slammed it into her abdomen. "Who's the clod _now_ , Peridot?"

Peridot's breath came in heavy, short, painful gasps. "Sti-Still you.." She gasped, the weight on her abdomen making it hard to speak.

" _Wrong answer."_ She picked up the escape pod and slammed it down on her again, harder than before. "Amethyst! Hurry! Get over here!"

"Whoa, Garnet, you got her!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"Use your whip to tie up her wrists." Garnet ordered.

"Can't I just beat her?" She asked.

"Later, Amethyst. For now, keep her tied down."

Amethyst wrapped her whip around Peridot's wrists, tightly binding them together.

"Amethyst..." Peridot coughed. "L-Let me go.. _Please_..."

"No!" Steven shouted in anger. "You tried to hurt us!"

Garnet ran to Pearl, who held the child in her arms.

"I-Is everyone okay, Pearl?"

Pearl nodded, hugging Garnet tightly as best she could with the child in her arms. "Yes. Sardonyx is safe."

Garnet awoke with a start.

"Who was that child?" She wondered, rubbing her eyes. "And why was it named after our fusion?.."

"Was that... Our child? No.. It's impossible. Completely, entirely impossible."

"Right?"

Cold beads of sweat dotted her neck and forehead, and turmoil raced through her mind, the dream messing with her thoughts.

"There's no way Pearl and I could ever have a child... But it was named for our fusion... How is that possible?.."

Her mind raced, filling up with countless thoughts until she fell asleep again.

Steven, it's time to begin your training." Pearl said, motioning for him to follow her. Excitedly, he ran to the warp pad, his eyes starry.

Pearl chuckled. "Remember, you have to pay close attention to your training, Steven. The harder you train, the better gem warrior you end up being." She warped them to the sky arena, where Garnet and Amethyst were already waiting for them to arrive, so they could watch Steven begin his training.

After a small lecture on stance and position, Pearl's holoform emerged from her gem, wooden sword in hand. Pearl handed Steven a wooden sword, then stepped aside to watch them, demonstrating the positions and strikes she was teaching him.

Garnet watched them from the side of the arena, her eyes drawn to Pearl's elegant form. She shuddered slightly as she observed her precise movements, her long, delicate limbs perfectly executing every attack, her crystalline voice loud and clear as she explained the movements to the young boy.

"Hey, Garnet, you okay?" Amethyst questioned. "You keep shivering.."

Garnet jumped slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine." She lied. "It's just kind of cold up here."

"You seem distracted..." She gasped in realization. "Are you staring at Pearl's ass?!"

"What?! No! Of course not!" Garnet blushed profusely.

"I bet you are..." Amethyst taunted in her sing-song voice.

"No, I'm not. But I'll beat yours if you don't stop."

"Ooh~. That sounds fu-"

"I don't mean it literally, Amethyst! Stop taking everything the wrong way.."

"I'm just trying to be funny..."

"Well then try harder."

Amethyst snickered. "That's what she said.."

Garnet facepalmed. "Really, Amethyst?"

"Yep!" She nudged Garnet's side. "Lighten up a little. You need it."

Garnet just ignored her and went back to staring, finding herself having to avert her eyes frequently.


	6. Chapter Five: The White Goddess

Steven handed his sword to Pearl and came running towards Garnet and Amethyst.

"Steven! That was amazing!" Amethyst exclaimed, bumping fists with him and laughing joyfully.

"You've done a great job, Steven." Garnet said, smiling slightly and ruffling his hair. Inside, she burned, and it intensified as Pearl came towards them, along with the erratic pounding of her heart.

"That's enough for today." Pearl said, dismissing her holoform and putting the swords back in their proper places. "It's almost Steven's bedtime."

"Aw!" Steven complained. "But that was so much fun!"

Pearl chuckled at his enthusiasm. "We'll come back out tomorrow, I promise." She led them back to the warp pad and warped them back into the house. Steven went off to put his pajamas on, and Pearl went in the other direction, leaving Garnet alone with Amethyst.

"I still think you were staring at Pearl-"

"Don't start with that, Amethyst." Garnet interrupted. "It's absolutely ridiculous."

"Ooh- Garnet, you're blushing!" Amethyst snickered.

"Amethyst, that's enough." Garnet glared at her. "You're not funny." She walked off towards her room.

Amethyst huffed. "Geez. What's up with her?" She muttered, walking upstairs.

"Amethyst!" Steven called.

"Yeah, what's up buddy?" She asked.

"What were you and Garnet talking about?"

"Nothing. She's kind of grouchy today."

"Maybe you just annoyed her."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "I was only trying to make her laugh. She's so uptight lately... Haven't you noticed it?"

"Yeah..." Steven nodded slightly. "I guess so."

The moon rose high in the black, glittering sky as Garnet stood by the window, leaning against the wall and staring into space. She took a deep breath and slowly defused, a mess of emotions.

Ruby stomped around in circles, while Sapphire stayed in place.

"Why does this keep on happening?!" Ruby exclaimed. "First the weird feelings, then the dreams, and now Amethyst's remarks! What's going on with us, Sapphire?!"

"I don't know, Ruby. Maybe we're sick. Gems don't usually feel this way around other gems.. Or anyone at all, for that matter..."

"What do you mean, 'Maybe we're sick'?! We don't get 'sick'!"

"I don't know what's happening to us, Ruby. But we have to stay together. We have to stay fused. It's the only way to get through it."

Ruby sniffled slightly. "...Sapphire?"

"Yeah?" Sapphire replied.

"What if... What if it never ends? What if this always happens to us?"

"Then we stay together. Always."

"Is Pearl... Poisoning us? Maybe she's-"

"No, Ruby. Pearl isn't poisoning us. She's done nothing to harm us."

"Then why are we so torn up around her?! Why does our heart beat faster? Why does our stomach burst into flame? Why do our legs feel like limp, wet noodles?! _WHY IS ALL OF THIS HAPPENING?!"_

"Calm down, Ruby... You'll wake someone up."

Ruby took a deep breath, collapsing onto the floor and crying out in exasperation. "Sapphire... Are we going to die?!"

"No, Ruby. Of course not. We're not dying. It's just a phase-"

"'Phases' don't last thousands of years, Sapphire... Something is wrong with us, and Pearl is obviously causing it." Ruby then started to cry, running to Sapphire and hugging her tightly. They fused back together, and Garnet stood in their place, worry tearing her apart as silent tears fell from her eyes.

Tomorrow was another day, and she'd power through it, as she'd always done.

But it was getting harder.

- **Three Weeks Later** -

Garnet watched from the counter beside Pearl, watching as Amethyst tried to teach Steven the fusion dance, chuckling softly as he fell on the floor.

"Be serious." Pearl groaned, snapping her fingers in vain attempt to get them to focus.

"Allow me to demonstrate. Garnet?" She motioned her head towards the warp pad.

Garnet took her hands in hers, her palms starting to sweat, although her gems made it unnoticable. In sync, they step, Garnet backwards, Pearl forwards, then again, Garnet forwards, Pearl backwards. They repeat the actions, Garnet's heart pounding in her chest from the contact. She moved her left hand to Pearl's back, lifting her right arm upwards. Pearl's left arm stretched freely, her right hand entwined with Garnet's. They stepped again, and Pearl lifted her left leg around Garnet's waist. The white gem felt next to nothing, while the red burned inside, her pelvis tingling slightly at the touch. Garnet spun her around and lifted her up, keeping her carefully supported as she gracefully dipped her towards the ground. Pearl spun into the wall, and Garnet soon followed, her palms hitting inches from her shoulders.

Then the earth shattered. Everything else fell away as Garnet struggled to contain her building feeling of lust for the goddess standing before her. She stared down upon her intently, noticing the faint blue tint of blush on her cheekbones. Her warm, gentle breath, her pale, radiant skin, bright, beautiful ocean blue eyes. Slender, elongated limbs, her subtle, yet apparent curves in her waist and hips. Her thin, soft lips, which she was _dying_ to press her own against-

"Um, Garnet?" Pearl asked, her blush intensifying as she looked at her leader, her face twisting in a confused expression. "Wh-What are you doing?"

"I thought you had something in your hair. I guess I was seeing things.." She blushed fiercely and moved away so Pearl could stand normally again.

Amethyst and Steven stared at them awkwardly in confusion.

"What was _that_ about?!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"Nothing." Pearl said, moving away from the wall. "That was nothing."

Amethyst snickered. "I think she was talking dirty to yo-"

" _Amethyst_!" Pearl growled through gritted teeth. " _Not_ _in_ _front of Steven_!" Her cheeks were now entirely blue, her fists clenched. How she could suggest something like that, and especially with Steven around- it absolutely infuriated her.

"Umm, what do we do now?" Steven asked.

"I think that's enough for today, Steven. Amethyst and I need to have a discussion." She glared in the purple gem's direction.

"Are you guys gonna fight?" He asked.

"No, Steven, we're not going to fight. Amethyst is just getting a severe lecture on her appropriateness and crude humor."

"Okay... I'm going to go see Connie." He headed quickly out the door, shouting his goodbyes to Garnet, who had disappeared to her room.

Garnet leaned up against the wall, her breath shaky as she tried to process the scene she'd just endured. As if her load weren't enough to bear, a realization hit her like a brick to the face.

 _"I love Pearl.."_ She whispered, her hands trembling.

" _But she doesn't love you back..."_ Her mind murmured. _"Didn't you see the way she looked at you? Like she was disgusted by you being close to her.."_

Garnet collapsed into a heap on the floor, the fiery sword of heartbreak and agony slicing her in two. Her tears rained into her lap as the pain set in, ripping holes in her heart and soul. She defused, unable to hold herself together any longer.

Ruby and Sapphire looked at each other, their eyes shining with loss.

"What happened, Sapphire?" Ruby choked.

"Our fusion..." Sapphire murmured. "We became two halves of Garnet, instead of our individual forms... And while our love for each other still lasts, our fusion found love in Pearl... The white goddess..."

"Amethyst, you can't keep making these jokes in front of Steven!" Pearl exclaimed, groaning in exasperation.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because, he still has his innocence intact! We can't ruin that!"

"Relax, Pearl. I won't say anything too harsh around him. I'm not _that_ irresponsible."

Pearl groaned again, burying her face in her hands. "That's beside the point. It's _embarrassing, Amethyst."_

Amethyst scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I was just trying to make you laugh. You haven't really _laughed_ in so long... Neither of you have. I was only trying to help. Next time I just won't." She walked off towards her room.

"Amethyst, I'm not trying to upset you.. I understand, okay? And you're right, things have been a little heavy since Steven was born, and Rose left..."

"I know... And I don't want that for Steven. He should live in a place full of happiness, not a house of dreary gems... He might start to blame himself.. And if the sex jokes make you uncomfortable, I won't make any more."

"It's not the jokes, Amethyst... It's my lack of experience that-"

Amethyst snickered. "Five thousand years, and you're still a v-"

" _DON'T_ SAY IT!" She smacked her face into her palms, crying out in frustration.


	7. Chapter Six: Spines of Relief

**Trigger warning.**

* * *

"And she was looking at her for a really long time." Steven said, walking along the beach with Connie.

"Hmm..." Connie thought for a moment. "Maybe Garnet loves her."

"But that's impossible." He argued. "Garnet's a fusion of Ruby and Sapphire. They fused together out of love.."

"When you fuse, you become one person, right? Like we did."

"Yeah, sorta... I don't really know." Steven shrugged.

"Ruby and Sapphire are, essentially, two halves of a single entity. Maybe they've been fused for so long that they aren't really individuals anymore... They're just... Garnet. They still love each other, but their single entity found love in another."

"But how is that possible? To love two people in that way?"

"It's called polyamory, and it's actually quite common. As long as everyone in the relationship is loved equally, it's okay, I guess..."

"Yeah," Steven agreed. "I guess that makes sense."

"I wouldn't say anything about it, though." Connie warned. "I may be wrong."

Steven nodded. "Right, right. Thanks for all your help, though."

"Yeah, no problem." She assured. "Sounds like you have a pretty weird family.."

"That's okay. I love them anyway."

Garnet opened her eyes, blinking to adjust to the light level, and untangling her limbs, pulling her knees to her chest. She wasn't sure how long she'd slept, or when she'd fused back, but she supposed it didn't really matter.

Upon her full consciousness, the devastation returned to her. The very thought of Pearl sent daggers into her, a pain so sharp she nearly felt it physically. The unseen brims of her eyes had reddened, and the inside of her throat ached for the moisture she'd lost. She ignored it, the mild discomfort incomparable to the internal. As much as she wanted to, crying was impossible. Slowly, she stood. She'd have to wait until later for her tears. No one else could see her pain. She had to keep it secret. As a leader, it was her job to make sure everyone else was happy, regardless of her own well-being. She forced her arm to move, pulling the door open, and walking out of her room. None of the other gems were there, which was rather odd. Usually if there was a mission they never left without her.

"Garnet!" Steven ran into the house. "There you are!"

"Where's everyone else?" She asked, more out of habit than anything. She didn't really care that much, at least, not _now_.

"I just went to bring Connie home, and she forgot her bag, so I came to get it. Pearl's training, and Amethyst is... somewhere. Where have you been?"

Garnet shook her head. "Nowhere important." She responded.

"Alright." He picked up Connie's bag and slung it over his shoulder. "Be right back!" He called over his shoulder, running out the door.

"Okay.." She mumbled, leaning against the counter slightly, crossing her arms.

"Yo." Amethyst walked out of her room.

Garnet nodded slightly, not really paying attention.

"What was up with last night? You and Pearl together or something?"

"Shut up, Amethyst." She muttered, shaking her head slightly.

"You okay, Garnet? You seem... distant."

"I'm fine."

"Okay then.." She said, not really believing it.

Garnet ignored her, too absorbed in her own thoughts and feelings.

 _"You need to start paying more attention..."_ She told herself. _"Someone will suspect something if this keeps up.."_

 _-_ **Later That Day** -

The sea star creature emerged from its cave, only one thing on it's minds:

 _Vengeance._

The Crystal Gems _wouldn't_ get away with invading it's cave.

It growled, a thick, watery sound emerging from it's chest. Anger boiled in it's blood as it charged down the beach. It took cover in the water, swimming below the surface until it reached the temple. It emerged, growling and approaching the temple. It launched its spikes at their dwelling, attempting to destroy it as they had done to it previously.

The gems charged out of the house, weapons drawn, ready for action.

Garnet leapt off of the deck, hardly even flinching as it's launched spike rammed into her abdomen. She nonchalantly removed it, tearing it away from her skin and throwing it into the water, punching and kicking at it's legs as it attempted to kick her away. The ends of its limbs scratched at her skin, making gashes all over and tears in her outfit. She hardly batted an eye, not even flinching as it tore shreds into her. She slammed her gauntleted fist into it's mouth, surprised to see that no gem was surrendered as it poofed away, only a bundle of it's spines.

"GARNET!" Steven shouted, running down towards her. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine." Garnet responded. "Make sure all of its spines are picked up."

"Bu-But you're bleeding.."

"It doesn't matter. I'm fine. We can't let the spines get loose, or it'll just come back again." She picked up the surrendered spines, bubbling them all away individually."

"Are you going to regenerate?" Pearl asked, gently placing a hand on Garnet's arm.

She flinched sharply. Her hand pressed into her wound, and it hurt, but not nearly as much as her battling emotions. The depression that she'd been fighting for thousands of years had been coming back full throttle lately. But, she supposed that it was just as well; only one of the many consequences of being a warrior was surrendering mental stability was just part of being a warrior.

Pearl quickly drew her hand back. "S-Sorry about that..." She chuckled awkwardly, bubbling away some of the spines, shuddering slightly at her reddened fingertips.

"No." Garnet answered. "Probably not. I'll be fine." She didn't listen to her protests, and continued to pick up the pieces the creature had dropped, making sure it'd never come back again.

Garnet examined her arms, covered in small gashes and scars from the cave creature's spines. She thought back to the earlier events, thinking about how it had felt when the creature had attacked her. Something about feeling the physical pain helped take the emotional pain away.. Maybe she could recreate that feeling. She bit her lip slightly.

 _"What if someone finds out?..."_ She wondered. _"What would they think?.."_ She thought for a moment, tracing her fingertips along the marks in concentration.

A thought formed in her head.

She picked up a small shard of glass off the nightstand, from when she'd accidentally shattered her lamp. Carefully, she examined the lines on her arms. She then pushed the glass against her skin, making a line identical to one she'd received from the monster. At first, it was just a simple scratch, something that would've gone away in minutes. The feeling of the cold glass sent shivers up her spine, activating her curiosity. She pressed with slightly more force, drawing blood. Her arm ached, but she felt a sense of relief, like she had while fighting the monster from the cave.

 _"I've found it. The release."_

* * *

Months passed. Garnet lived in a daze, numb to everything except the growing hole in her heart. She never smiled, and rarely laughed, her feeble attempts more of a slightly exaggerated exhale than anything else. The agony tore away at her insides, but she kept her face solemn, shielding everyone around her from her pain. It was hers, and hers alone, and she was responsible for keeping it contained. In any way she could without drawing any attention, she avoided Pearl, and if it couldn't be avoided, she never looked at her. The white goddess only made her emotions stir- a dangerous occurrence. Too much could send her overboard, to the point of no return. She became more reckless in battle, throwing reason and logic away, acting on her burning rashness. She took a lot of physical damage, but never seemed to be affected by it at all, almost as if she enjoyed being hurt so. And, deep down... she did. The punches and cuts brought a sense of relief, like a drug of some sort. In times when there weren't many battles, she would make her own marks, mimicking battle scars in order to go unnoticed.

And for the longest time, she did. Slowly, she withered away. She hardly ever said a word to anyone, always seeming to be lost in the depths of her mind. She suffered in silence while everyone else continued with their normal lives around her, blissfully unaware of the demons inside of her heart, tearing away at her soul, until there was hardly anything left of her.

* * *

Steven sat at the barstool, stirring his spoon through his soup. His appetite had gone, worry taking it's place.

"Are you alright, Steven?" Pearl asked, drying dishes at the other side of the counter. "You've hardly touched your food.."

"I'm worried about Garnet..." Steven admitted.

"Garnet's just fine, Steven. She's just a very quiet person."

"She never smiles anymore... She never laughs... And when we fight, she doesn't think.. She just runs and attacks, and she gets all beat up-" He teared up slightly. "I think something's wrong with her..."

Pearl sighed softly. "It's hard to tell with her... But, if you really think something's up... I'll talk to her."

"Thanks, Pearl..." Steven smiled a little.

She nodded. "Of course."


	8. Chapter Seven: Taking it Slow

Chapter Seven

Garnet awoke early the next morning. The sky was still dark, low hues of purple just barely beginning to brush the horizon. Silently, she made her way through the temple and out the front door, standing on the porch as she gazed up at the sky. She felt mostly empty, as was usual for her now. She pulled up her sleeves a little, exposing her scar-littered arms to the cold air that blew across the sea. The slight saltiness stung the fresh marks, but she hardly noticed, pulling her sleeves back to their normal position. Revealing the marks out in the open, even in solitude, was too great of a risk for her to take. Slowly, her mind started to wander, and she let it. Immediately, she thought of Pearl. The long months of avoiding her had finally taken their toll on her. All she wanted was to hold her, as she'd used to years ago, while she'd mourned for Rose Quartz. Just the simple touch of her soft skin was all she desired. Even the simple brush of fingertips would be enough. But she couldn't risk it, in fear of letting her secret out.

Her heart began to pound, her stomach clenching fiercly, a strangled cry escaping her lips. Her love for the White Goddess consumed her, and could not be extinguished, which only made her torment that much more real. She struggled to contain her tears. Crying would do no good, only making her feel worse once the whole ordeal was over. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, willing the tears not to fall. She breathed deeply, slowly calming herself until her eyes had dried, all without spilling a single tear.

" _You're getting stronger.."_

Pearl stepped out onto the porch, glancing at her leader. "H-Hello, Garnet..." She shyly stood beside her, looking up.

Garnet nodded in response, using all her willpower not to look in her direction. They stood a few moments in heavy, awkward silence, until Pearl finally spoke.

"Steven's worried about you..."

"I'm fine." Garnet insisted. "Steven has nothing to worry about."

"You're never around anymore, and when we battle..." Her eyes fell upon Garnet's slightly raised sleeve, suspicions arising. She gently grasped her arm and lifted the fabric. Her heart fell at the array of self inflictions on her flesh. "Garnet..." She whispered in despair, having no idea what to say. "Why?.."

"It was you..." She murmured, the tears coming back. Nothing was secret now..

"Wh-What? What did I ever do to-"

"I love you!" Garnet confessed, crying freely.

Pearl stared in disbelief, stammering incoherently. She was absolutely speechless.

"When we were trying to teach Steven the fusion dance... A-And you looked at me like you hated me... I-I just thought..."

"Garnet, I could never hate you..."

Garnet hugged Pearl tightly, unable to control herself anymore. She sobbed heavily, holding tightly to Pearl, but it seemed nothing could supress her agony any longer.

"I'm sorry.. I-I had no idea you-"

"Please just give me a chance..." She begged. She'd come so close, she couldn't let her slip away now.

Pearl bit her bottom lip in thought. She felt only friendship for Garnet, but, if it would make her happy, then Steven would be happy as well... "Alright." She agreed. She wrapped her arms around Garnet's neck, lying her head on her chest. She had to admit, it felt... nice, being with her like this. She tried her best to soothe her, not wanting to see her cry anymore.

"Thank you, Pearl..." She dried her eyes, looking down at the White Goddess. "It means the world to me..."

Pearl blushed faintly, nodding. "You're welcome." She awkwardly let go of her.

"We don't have to tell anyone... If you don't want to." Garnet said.

"Let's just wait a little bit." Pearl suggested. "Take it slow, and see how things turn out."

She nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a good idea."

Steven laid on the floor on his stomach, his face stretched with joy. He had convinced Garnet to watch a movie with everyone else, and it had only taken one ask. He was definitely glad to have her back to normal. His eyes widened in excitement as he popped the disc in, giggling ecstatically.

"Calm down, Steven." Amethyst chuckled.

Garnet chuckled softly. "He's just excited, Amethyst." She laid on Steven's bed on her stomach, Pearl next to her in a similar position. She hardly paid attention as the movie played, focusing all her attention on Pearl. Absentmindedly, she'd wrapped her arm around her shoulders, lighting up inside when she didn't push her away. The warmth of her skin calmed her, and she peacefully drifted off, her head rested on Pearl's shoulder.

"Aw." Amethyst chuckled softly, standing up and stretching. "Look at them, Steven." She tilted her head towards Steven's bed, where Pearl and Garnet had fallen asleep. Garnet hand her arms wrapped around Pearl from behind, and Pearl had her hands entwined with Garnet's, a small smile on her face.

"Why are they doing that?" He asked, confused, keeping his voice low. "They never do that..." Did they have that thing Connie had told him about? Polyamory?

Amethyst shrugged. "I don't know. But who cares? It's still cute.. You should take a picture."

Steven shook his head. "It'll wake them up."

"Okay then. Goodnight, Steven." Amethyst headed down the stairs.

"Wait. Where am I supposed to sleep?" He asked.

"We can get some extra pillows, and some blankets. You can crash on the couch."

Steven nodded. "Yeah, okay. I guess that works."

-The Next Morning-

The rays of early morning sun leaked through the windows, shining right in Pearl's eyes. The gem groaned softly, opening her eyes and blinking to adjust to the light. She blushed faintly, seeing that Garnet was still asleep. She felt at peace, curled into Garnet's chest and holding her hands, the pattern of her peaceful breathing washing away any worry.

"Good morning, my Goddess." Garnet murmured, gently kissibg the top of her head.

"M-Morning, Garnet.." A light blue blush dusted her cheeks, and she smiled up at her.

"Have I overstepped my limit?" She questioned. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable.."

"Not at all." She responded, staring into Garnet's eyes through her glasses.

Garnet nodded, gently rubbing her thumb over Pearl's hand. "You can let go whenever you want."

"I don't think I want to."


	9. Chapter Eight: A Sky Full of Stars

The house was empty. Amethyst and Steven had gone out into the town, leaving Pearl and Garnet alone together.

They laid out in the sand, curled up together with their legs in the water, both dressed in slightly lighter clothing than usual. The blazing heat of the midday sun shone directly upon them, making droplets of moisture form on their skin. The day was too beautiful not to enjoy, so the heat didn't really bother them.

"You should take your glasses off.." Pearl suggested. "So I can see your eyes."

"You really think so?" Garnet asked, chuckling softly.

She nodded.

"Alright then... But don't freak out too much." She bit her bottom lip slightly as she removed her glasses.

"Why would I freak out?" Pearl asked, looking up at Garnet. "Oh. That. I already knew about your third eye."

Garnet chuckled awkwardly. "You did?"

"Yeah, I did. It doesn't matter anyway. I don't see you any differently."

Garnet smiled shyly, sliding her glasses back on and putting her arms around Pearl, holdong her close. The touch of her soft skin sent pins and needles of excitement through her, making her heart beat faster. She welcomed the sensation, staring into her ocean blue eyes.

Pearl blushed faintly, her cheekbones colored with pale blue as she looked up at her leader, her thin lips stretching into a small smile. Being with Garnet in this way felt odd to her, wrong, even. But she wanted nothing more than to spend all day in her arms, unfazed by the heat. The only heat that mattered was the slowly growing passion inside.

-Later that Night-

The sun slipped beyond the horizon, slowly painting the sky vibrant pinks and oranges before fading to a soft indigo. Stars glittered overhead, dimly lighting the beach. All the gems were outside on the sand, lying on their backs to stare up at the wonders of the heavens above.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Pearl mused, lying next to Garnet. Fireflies flew around them, blinking gently, seeming unbothered by Steven and Connie chasing them around, laughing and trying to catch them in jars.

"Not as beautiful as you.." Garnet murmured, gently taking Pearl's hand in hers. She smiled softly as her face turned bright blue, chuckling a little.

Pearl murmured in disbelief. "You-You really think I'm-"

"Flawless."

Garnet whispered.

Pearl stared at her speechlessly. No one had ever said anything like that before, and she had no idea how to react. The next few moments were spent in silence, as they stared into each other's eyes, hands entertwined.

"Look, Connie." Steven whispered, nudging Connie gently.

"What?" She asked, keeping her voice low, not knowing why he was whispering.

"Over there." He tilted his head towards Garnet and Pearl.

"Aw.." She chuckled softly. "They're cute together..."

Steven nodded, grinning ear to ear. "They look so happy."

"Yeah.." She looked down at her watch. "I gotta go, Steven. Curfew's in half an hour."

"Okay. Do you want to take the jar with you?" He offered.

"Nah. Just let them free." She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Goodnight, Steven." She looked at him and hesitated for a moment, then headed off down the beach.

"Wait! Do you need a ride?" He called after her. "I can go ask my dad to drive you home!"

"No, I'll be fine." She continued along, not turning to look at him. "See you tomorrow!" She played with the strings of her backpack, feeling a little more sad to leave than she usually did.

* * *

Steven yawned softly, giving one final glance at the sky. As Connie had asked, he unscrewed the lid on the jar of fireflies, letting them fly freely into the air, and reclosing the jar.

"I'm going to go to bed.. Night, Amethyst."

Amethyst stood up and stretched. "I'm going to head in too. It's kinda boring out here."

"Okay. Goodnight, Garnet, goodnight Pearl!" He waved and walked into the house, closing the door behind him.

Garnet and Pearl were left alone again, still sitting together and staring up at the stars. Their arms were wrapped around each other, Pearl's head rested on Garnet's shoulder. She yawned softly, readjusting her posture to be closer to Garnet.

"Tired?" Garnet asked, smiling softly down at her.

She nodded a little, looking up at her.

Garnet unwrapped her arm from Pearl and stood up, taking her hand as she did the same. "We should probably head in. It's probably way past Steven's- oh." She turned her head to look behind her. "They already went in." She redirected her attention to Pearl, who now stood directly in front of her. Garnet ran her thumbs delicately over Pearl's hands, staring into her deep blue eyes. Feeling her slender arms wrap around her neck, she lowered her arms to her waist. She moved closer to her, eliminating the space between their forms. Slowly, they drew nearer to each other, until their lips were only a breath away. Pearl tilted her head downwards just as Garnet began to come closer, uncomfortably staring down at the sand beneath her feet. While she felt a budding romance for her leader, she wasn't quite ready for that.

"Have I overstepped my limit?" Garnet asked, not wanting to risk losing her. The past few days had been perfect, and she didn't want to ruin anything.

"A-A little.." Pearl admitted, biting her bottom lip in hesitation.

She nodded. "Don't let me pressure you, Pearl. If things are moving too fast, then we can change that."

"Today was nice, I-I'm just not quite ready for.."

"It's fine, Pearl. I'll wait. As long as you need me to." She hugged her gently. "Don't worry about it."

Pearl laid her head on Garnet's chest, yawning softly and staring up at the stars.

Garnet scooped her up bridal style, making Pearl gasp in surprise.

"Garnet!" She exclaimed, tightly clinging to her.

"Don't worry, Pearl. I won't drop you." She chuckled, carrying her up towards the temple. She walked into her bedroom and laid her down, gently kissing the top of her head before turning to leave. "Goodnight." She whispered, quietly closing the door and walking into her own room.

-The Next Morning-

"What's going on with you two?" Amethyst demanded. "You guys have been acting really weird. Don't try to deny it either." She crossed her arms.

Both of them were lost for words, until Pearl spoke up.

"We're... Sort of.. together..." She stammered, her face slowly turning blue.

"How is that even possible? Garnet's a fusion, she can't-"

"Ruby and Sapphire have become one single entity." Steven interrupted. "And that single entity found love in another.. A polyamory.."

Garnet nodded. "Exactly... Who told you about that?"

"I, um, I asked Connie about it, after you guys fell asleep together during the movie." He awkwardly stepped away, running out the front door to go find Connie.

"You guys aren't gonna, like, have make out sessions in front of us... Right?" Amethyst questioned.

"No." Garnet answered. "We have bedrooms for that."

Pearl's blush darkened and she buried her blue face in her hands.

Amethyst raised a brow. "How did you guys even end up together? And why now? We've all been here, for like, thousands of years."

"Garnet only recently confessed her feelings for me, and I agreed to give her a chance. Things like this take time, Amethyst."

"Whatever." She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Just, don't have sex on the couch. I do _NOT_ need to see that!"

"No promises." Garnet answered, smirking ever so slightly.

Pearl gently smacked her arm. " _Garnet_!" She cried in exasperation.

Garnet chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Only when you're ready."


	10. Chapter Nine: Flower Blossoms

Connie stared out of her bedroom window, book in her lap. She couldn't focus on her reading. There was just simply too much on her mind, Garnet and Pearl's budding relationship especially. If her parents were to find out, there was no telling what would happen. Their beliefs and ways of thinking were complicated, and it was nearly impossible to tell whether or not they would approve. She had already told them so many lies, she wasn't sure how long it would be until everything fell apart, and she would be forbidden to see Steven.

The thought nearly made her sick. If she didn't have Steven, she would return to her empty, changeless, lonely routine. And that would absolutely break her heart.

Steven ran down the beach, precious cargo between his fingertips. He had only one thought on his mind: Connie. An odd sensation overtook him as he pictured her face in his mind, one that often occured when they were together, especially if they were alone. He'd never felt anything like this before, and had planned to ask his dad about it.

But that would have to wait, as he had arrived at the Maheswaran's residence. Steven saw her in her room and jumped up and down underneath Connie's window, shouting and waving his arms to attract her attention.

Connie opened the window. "Steven! What are you doing?!" She exclaimed.

"They're together!" He shouted gleefully. "You were right!"

She ran down the stairs and out the door. "That's great, Steven... How come you came all the way over here?" She pondered, tilting her head slightly

"I-I, umm... I came to give you this." He shyly held out the daisy in his hand, his face red at the cheeks.

"Aw, Steven.. That's so sweet." She smiled a little, her face also reddening. "Thank you.."

Steven grinned. "I'm sorry it's a little wilted.."

"That doesn't matter. It's the thought that counts." She led him towards the house, placing the daisy in a small glass vase filled with water. "There." She smiled brightly at him, noticing his cheeks get redder.

"He's cute when he blushes.."

The sun had just began to set as Steven walked into the house. The gems were gathered in the living room, Garnet reading her newspaper, with Pearl leaned up against her with her own book. Amethyst just laid on the floor, staring at the ceiling fan, daydreaming, her hair sprawled out on the floorboards.

"Where have you been all day?" Amethyst wondered. "It's so /boring/ without you here!"

"I was with Connie." Steven answered.

"Oh. Are you guys dating yet, or what?"

"N-No.." Steven blushed faintly.

"Ooh! Steven's got a crush! Steven's got a crush!" Amethyst bantered.

"Leave him alone, Amethyst." Garnet interrupted. "You're embarrassing him."

"N-No she's not..." Steven defended. "I-I'm fine."

Garnet chuckled softly. "It's obvious, Steven... But Amethyst shouldn't be making fun of you."

"I'm just messing with him, Garnet." Amethyst ruffled his hair. "Besides, Steven and Connie are cute together."

Garnet nodded. "That they are." She smiled down at Pearl, who was nestled against her legs. "Aren't they, Pearl?"

She looked up from her book. "What? Oh, yes." She agreed. "Absolutely adorable." She blushed a little and gazed up at Garnet.

Garnet leaned forward slightly, gently kissing the top of her head, her heart swelling with happiness.

Her smile widened, and she laughed softly, her face turning a darker blue.

"D'aww." Amethyst chuckled. She couldn't help but feel a little sad, since she was the only one without a love interest, or even a crush.

Steven seemed to sense this. "Don't worry, Amethyst. You'll find someone perfect for you. I'm sure of it." He grinned widely, hoping to cheer her up.

"Thanks, Steven." She said.

"Anytime."

Connie and Steven laid sprawled out on the floor, a deck of cards between them.

"You win... Again." Connie chuckled.

"Yeah.. I guess so." Steven sighed. "This is getting kind of boring..."

"Yeah, it is." Connie agreed. She sat up slightly. "Hmmm... I have an idea."

Steven put the cards away in the box. "What is it?" He asked.

"We should set up a date for Garnet and Pearl." She smiled brightly. "It'll help their relationship grow stronger."

"Yeah, that'd be great!" He exclaimed. "Where do we start?"

"Well, we find a quiet place, where they can be alone together. And that's pretty much it."

Steven thought for a moment. "The island! There aren't any more gem creatures, and it's totally private! It'll be perfect!"

"Yeah! The island!" Connie jumped up. "But how do we convince them to go along with it?

"They usually do what I ask... I'll just use my unfailing charm!"

"Come on!" Steven exclaimed. "It'll be a great way for you to get to know each other!"

"Steven, we've lived together for thousands of years..." Pearl said, sort of confused by the idea of a date. "We know pretty much everything about each other."

"But you should still spend time together! Especially if you're a couple!"

"Nothing's official yet, Steven." Garnet told him.

"Exactly why a date would be a good idea!" He persisted. "Come on! It'll be fun!"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt..." Pearl glanced at Garnet. "What do you think?"

"If Steven wants us to, then we should." Garnet decided. "It could be fun."

"And we have the perfect place!" Connie exclaimed.

"The island!" Steven shouted.

"The island?" Pearl questioned. "Aren't there gem monsters there?"

"No. Sadie killed it."

"Well, alright then." She agreed. "Let's do it."

Garnet nodded and took her hand, smiling at the sensations that pulsed through her. Just a simple touch ignited her, sending sparks through her body.

Together they all walked to the warp pad, Connie and Steven giddy with excitement.

"Well, I guess we'll leave you alone now.." Steven said. "Have fun!" He and Connie warped back to the temple, whooping and cheering.

"We did it!" Connie exclaimed.

Amethyst walked out of her room. "Oh, hey guys... Where'd Garnet and Pearl go?"

"They went out on a date." Steven said, grinning ear to ear.

"Oh, okay."

"Are you alright, Amethyst? You seem down lately." Connie observed, watching the purple gem's reaction closely.

"Yeah, I'm all good. Thanks anyway, though." She forced a small smile, going back to her room with her food.

"She doesn't seem like herself lately..." Connie hummed slightly.

"Maybe she's lonely..." Steven pondered. "Garnet and Pearl are... sorta together, and we hang out all the time, maybe she just needs a friend."

"Or a boyfriend." Connie suggested.

"Or girlfriend... I don't know.." Steven furrowed his eyebrows.

"Right, right.. Hmm... We could always ask... Wait, no, that might seem offensive.."

Steven perked up slightly. "I have an idea..."

Garnet and Pearl stood awkwardly on the warp pad, gazing at the surrounding forest.

"It sure is beautiful out here..." Pearl observed. "Don't you think so?"

Garnet shrugged slightly. "Eh. I've seen better." She winked slightly at the White Goddess, hoping she'd catch on.

Pearl looked at her in confusion, blushing slightly when she realized Garnet had been flirting with her. She chuckled faintly, not quite sure how to react. She gazed out towards the water and headed in that direction, Garnet following close behind. Together, they explored the hills of the island until they came to a small waterfall. It's crystal blue waters cascaded down a small rocky cliff, making a rounded pool beneath it. Cherry trees and wildflowers were everywhere, completing the beauty of nature's masterpiece.

Pearl scaled the cliffs of the waterfall, delicately making her way upwards. The cliff, while not very tall, was narrow and steep, and the rocks were slick with moisture.

"Be careful up there!" Garnet called, watching hwr carefully.

"I'll be fine!" She responded, having made her way to the top. A wildflower she'd never seen before caught her eye and she approached it, intrigued by it's bright coloring.

"Whoa!" She screamed, losing her footing on a wet stone. She tumbled off of the cliff, landing in Garnet's arms, the red gem's glasses knocked to the ground. She stared up into her eyes, her heartbeat quickening. Something took over her, and she leaned closer to her, her cheekbones turning a soft blue as she gently pressed her velvety lips against Garnet's slightly tougher ones, her gem glowing dimly. Their lips fit together like pieces of a puzzle, and moved together in perfect sync, the growing love and passion between them lighting them aflame inside. Pearl wrapped her arms around Garnet's neck, slowly, gently pulling her lips away from her lover's, her stomach in knots. The air was silent, no words needing to be said. Their love was written in their eyes, and simply staring was enough to relay the message to one another.

"Garnet?" Pearl whispered.

"Yes?" Garnet asked.

"I...I love you."


	11. Chapter Ten: Darkening Skies

The house was mostly barren as Steven, Amethyst and Connie played a card game in the living room. It was a particularly interesting card game at that.

"Steven," Connie said, drawing a card. "Would you rather fight a hundred duck sized horses, or one horse sized duck?"

"Hmm... Definitely the duck." Steven responded. "Amethyst." He pulled the fake card he and Connie had made off the pile, glancing at Connie nervously. "Would you rather date a boy, or a girl?"

Amethyst hummed slightly, biting her lip. Her eyes darted across the room, and she thought out her answer.

"It's okay, Amethyst." Connie reassured her. "We won't judge you."

"I guess it doesn't really matter... It's personality that counts, not gender. Hearts, not parts."

Steven smiled a little, glancing at Connie and blushing slightly. Her hair hung around her face, accentuating the thin frames of her glasses. She stacked the cards neatly and put them back in the box. Every move was quick and precise, and he liked that.

Amethyst snickered and made kissy faces at Steven to tease him, earning her an agitated glare from him.

"Umm.. Why are you doing that?" Connie asked, her forehead scrunched with confusion.

"Steven knows." Amethyst looked at him, still laughing.

"Okay then..." Connie put the box of cards away, brushing off the subject. Amethyst was weird, and she'd always known that, but this seemed a little _too_ odd, even for her.

* * *

A couple hours later, Amethyst was out cold. Taking the opportunity, Connie and Steven snuck into his room, booting up Connie's laptop.

"That game didn't help us any..." Steven pointed out, eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"So we just go online and find someone we think will be a good match." She decided, opening up the website. "Do you have any pictures of her?"

"Uh, yeah." He pulled out his cellphone, scrolling to a goofy selfie they had taken on the beach. "It's not very flattering though..."

"It'll be fine. Email it to me." She started typing away, writing Amethyst's biography, leaving out her immortality. That could be dealt with later. She opened up her email, and laughed at the picture. "You were right. Definitely not flattering. I guess it doesn't really matter." She uploaded the picture along with the small bio she'd written for her, and clicked "Save."

"There. Now we wait."

Garnet stood speechless, still holding Pearl in her arms. She certainly hadn't anticipated this, Pearl falling for her so quickly, but she was ecstatic nonetheless.

"I love you too." She hugged her tighter to her chest, her insides bursting with passion, gems glowing brightly.

Pearl rested her head on Garnet's shoulder, the incandesence of her gem growing stronger, lighting up the slowly darkening sky.

"Maybe we should head back.." Garnet mused. "It's getting late."

"We don't have to." Pearl responded. "Steven and Connie are with Amethyst, and if they need anything, she or Greg can take care of it. We could stay out here all night, if you wanted." She stepped down onto the ground.

Garnet moved her hands to around Pearl's hips. "We could... What do you suggest we do?"

"I have an idea." She purred, leaning closer to Garnet. She planted her lips against hers, moving closer so their bodies touched. She ran her hands through her leader's hair, gently rolling the strands between her fingertips. Sparks coursed through her as she revelled in the feeling of their connected lips. Her lungs ached, and her heart pounded, her stomach twisting with quickly intensifying passion. A soft murmur passed through her lips, her senses tingling with excitement. She hesitantly broke the embrace for air, and reconnected it just as quickly, only pausing for a scarcely adequate intake of breath. She curled one leg around Garnet's waist, shivering with ecstasy at the contact. She pulled away after a moment, the need for air burning in her chest.

Garnet blushed and looked down upon her, trying to take back control of her breathing.

"That was fun." She purred, her breath slowly returning to normal.

"Indeed it was."

* * *

"What about this one?" Steven asked.

"Ew, no!" Connie squeaked. "Left, left, left!"

Steven laughed. "He's not that bad.. How about this one?"

"Hmm... Nope. Left."

"Are you just rejecting everybody?" He asked, swiping to another picture.

"Yeah, pretty much... Left."

"This isn't very productive.."

"I have a strategy... Left."

"Maybe we should look for a girl for Amethyst... Since this isn't getting us anything."

"Yeah, let's do that..." She answered. "Maybe that will help."

The next hour was spent looking through pictures, with many, _many_ left swipes.

"This has gotten us nowhere.." Connie groaned, exasperated.

"Maybe.. Maybe we should just look for people offline." Steven suggested.

"Or, maybe," Amethyst interrupted, walking up the stairs. "You could leave my love life to myself."

Steven and Connie glanced at each other worriedly, hoping that Amethyst wouldn't be mad.

"Why are you even doing this?" She asked, confused.

Connie bit her lip slightly. "You seem kinda off lately..." She explained. "So we figured, maybe you were lonely, since Pearl and Garnet are together, and Steven and I hang out all the time..."

"We were only trying to help.." Steven added.

"And that's nice and all, but I'm fine. Really. If I decide I want to look for someone, then I will."

"Who do you hang out with all day when we're not here?" Steven asked.

"I have things to occupy myself with. Don't worry about me, okay? I'm fine. I promise." She smiled and ruffled Steven's hair. "Besides, I've got you guys, who else could I possibly need?"

* * *

The waves crashed against the rocks, the black night empty of stars. Clouds covered all except the half moon, which glowed brightly into the overcast. The wind blew from the sea, sending salt stinging into her eyes.

She stood atop the rocks, staring up at the sky expectantly. A slight hint of despair shone in her eyes, her face empty of any expression. Her long, dull golden hair fluttered behind her, the strands thick

with moisture. Her jeans were torn along the lower of her left leg, a long gash in the material. Little white threads blew off into the winds, and the ends of the laces on her boots fluttered, but she paid them no attention.

"Please..." She whispered, her eyes watery with salt and tears. "Don't forget me..."

A single teardrop plinked against the rocks.


	12. Chapter Eleven: The Green Gem's Game

-Six Thousand Years Ago-

Peridot pulled up her touchscreen with her fingers, humming slightly in thought, biting the inside of her lip. She looked out of the window of her pod as she drove, an old training station catching her eye. It hadn't been used for hundreds of years, and no one would miss it if it were to be destroyed...

"Perfect." She smirked. "Just _perfect_." She laughed wickedly, keeping her voice low. No one needed to know her plan. Any interference would cause _major_ flaws. She turned her pod around and headed back to her base.

* * *

The girl hesitantly walked into the abandoned training center. "Are you sure this is it, Peridot? No one's _ever_ used this place..." She mused. Being the young gem she was, she had no idea of it's usage, as it had been stopped just before her birth.

"Yes, that's the place." Peridot replied, her voice scratchy through the communicator. "It should be in the center room. I trust you'll be able to find it."

"Alright, will do. I'll be back soon." She tucked the communicator away and silenced it, pulling her long hair up to keep it out of the way. Hesitantly, she stepped inside. Her footsteps echoed off the crumbling architecture, and she flinched lightly as tiny pieces of stone and dust particles hit the ground. Her hands trembled slightly, and she wanted to run far, far away from this place.

But Peridot wouldn't appreciate her chickening out.

And she had to impress her.

So, she continued on, approaching the center room, which was the control room.

Her communicator buzzed, and she turned it back on. "Are you in the center room yet?"

"Yes," she answered.

* * *

"Good." Peridot smirked to herself, her pod positioned above the building. "Now, to the far left, there is a small switch. It's very easy to miss, so be attentive." She tapped away at her touchscreen, a malicious smirk making it's way across her green lips, a small cackle escaping.

"Ready, aim, _fire_."

* * *

The young gem examined the control room where she'd been told to look, finding nothing. She searched the entire corner several times, always ending up with nothing.

Her communicator buzzed violently in her pocket, and she reached for it, but she was too late.

A blinding flash of light spread across her vision, a thunderous explosion making her eardrums ring.

" _PERIDOT_!" She screamed, her heart pounding in her chest. Another explosion sent her flying, her death nearly imminent as she blasted through the air, and out of the atmosphere.

Hours later, she awoke among the stars.

* * *

Peridot laughed cruelly as she fired lasers at the old training base. The day before, she'd rigged it with explosives, which would all go off, killing anyone within it's small, yet lethal range.

All her problems had been solved.

She landed her pod, walking into the smouldering remains of the building, smirking slightly as she bent down, picking up the light pink shards and examined them, like grains of sand between her fingertips.

She knew exactly what they were.

 _Mission accomplished._

-Present Day-

Peridot paced around the room, tablet open in front of her.

"Come on, Robonoids!" She shouted in annoyance. " _HURRY UP_!" Her ship was extremely slow, taking nearly two months to get to Earth from Homeworld. " _CLODS!_ "

"Calm down, Peridot." Her communicator echoed, Yellow Diamond's voice coming through it. "Your rage won't help you any. Once you get there, _then_ unleash your anger. Take it out upon their ugly blue skies, their _putrid_ green grasses, and-"

" _HEY_!" She screamed, deeply offended. " _ **I'M** GREEN_!"

"I am fully aware of that. Control your anger or there will be consequences. And remember-"

Peridot grumbled and threw her communicator, cutting off Yellow Diamond's voice mid-sentence, not really giving a damn anymore.

* * *

The girl stood on the boardwalk, staring down into the deep, cold, dark waters of the sea. The day had been dreary, as had all her days on Planet Earth. She had never liked it there, and wanted so desperately to go home that it hurt, tearing her stomach and ebbing at her sides, filling her eyes with moisture, and hollowing her heart.

But where _was_ home, anyway?

Did she even _have_ a home anymore?

She didn't know.

* * *

Amethyst walked out of the house, wanting a bit of fresh air. Connie and Steven's game of matchmaker had gotten her thinking, and she'd decided to take a walk to clear her head. She made her way in the direction of the boardwalk, not headed anywhere in particular. Just wandering, her mind miles away as she walked deeper into town.

Her eyes caught sight of the girl standing by the edge of the sea, and immediately snapped out of it. As simple as she might've been, Amethyst was completely starstruck. She was completely mesmerized by her long, flowing hair, much more well kept than her own. Her subtle frame, long legs, the very slight curve of her a-

" _Amethyst, get your head out of the gutter_!" 

Just as she went to approach her, she turned and walked away, not noticing her presence.

Amethyst frowned slightly, but didn't go after her. She turned and headed for home, dumbstruck.

She had fallen in an instant.

* * *

Clouds gathered in the distant horizon as Garnet and Pearl stared at each other, awestruck from the intimacy of their kiss. A crash of lightning broke the silence, snapping them out of their moment.

"We should go," Garnet said, lowering her hands to her sides. "Make sure it's not storming back at home."

Pearl nodded and lowered her arms. "You're right. Let's go." She lowered her arms as well, taking Garnet's hand in her own. They walked together towards the warp pad, teleporting home just as it began to rain.

Steven, Amethyst, and Connie were gathered around in the living room, all wrapped in blankets as torrents of water fell around the house. Thunder echoed through the sky, and Connie flinched at the sound, moving closer to Steven. Blushing faintly, he put his arm around her, smiling reassuringly as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Everything will be alright." He murmured, playing with a strand of her hair.

"Pearl, Garnet, you're back." Amethyst said. "You were gone for, like, hours... What'd you do?"

"Don't even start with that, Amethyst." Garnet interjected, looking down at Pearl, whose face had gone slightly blue.

Amethyst scoffed. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant your glasses."

"They're broken."

* * *

Garnet's eyes slowly opened, blinking to adjust to the light. Pearl laid curled up to her side, still peacefully asleep. She placed a gentle kiss above her gem, wrapping her arms around her, holding her close to her chest. She stared down at her angelic face- the gentle flutter of her eyelashes, her thin lips pursed in dreaming. Garnet gently ran her fingers through her hair, her heart swelling with joy. _Pearl loved her._ Even in her most despeeate attempts, her future visions had never shown this as a possibility.

But that didn't stop her from loving every moment.


	13. Chapter Twelve: Green With Regret

- **Six Thousand Years Ago** -

* * *

The young gem laid motionless in the middle of a field of wildflowers, having crash-landed on another planet, far away from her own.

" _Am I dead_?..." She thought, staring up at the stars above her. It was then that she realized she had no body, and couldn't move, her subconscious mind giving her sight. " _Why is everything pink_?" She quickly became confused, and even a little panicked, but she soon calmed, becoming aware of her place. " _Is this what regeneration is like? How does this even work? Do I just... Pop out? How did I even get here?"_

She slowly started to regain feeling.

* * *

Peridot drifted in and out of sleep, the past day's events racing through her mind. She was rid of her problems, so why did she feel so... _empty_? She was finally free, able to devote all her time to destroying the miserable rock that was Earth. Free of responsibility for the life she had created all those hundreds of years ago, when she had wrongly believed that companionship was necessary. Now she was someone else's problem, if she was even still alive. She turned on her side, stretching her arm out, her lips turning downward at the empty space, where the other gem has used to lie.

 _What had she done?_

- **Present Day** -

"Hey, want to check out this cool thing I found down the beach?" Steven asked.

"Sure," Connie grinned at him. "What is it?"

"It's a surprise. Come on!" Together they ran down the steps, giggling as they chased each other through the sand.

* * *

Centipeetles skittered across the sand, snarling as green drips of saliva rolled off their jagged teeth. Their sights locked in on the blonde standing in her usual place by the cluster of rocks, and they picked up their speed, charging towards her with jaws open wide.

Panicking, she drew her weapon, a stone sword she had crafted in her early days on Earth, when the area was rampant with monsters and other gems. She slashed at the creatures swarming around her ankles, crying out in pain when they bit at her legs, tearing the fabric of her jeans even more than they already were. As an inexperienced fighter, she soon acquired multiple gashes, each one more painful and deeper than the last. The long sleeves of her hooded pullover had ridden up towards her elbows, but she didn't have time to care. A Centipeetle head-butted the back of her legs, and she lost her balance, slipping and tumbling on the sea moistened rocks, smashing the back of her head on a rock.

* * *

Steven and Connie continued to run, almost to their destination when Connie stopped dead in her tracks, grasping Steven's wrist to slow him down.

" _Look._ " She whispered, tilting her head toward the girl, desperately lacerating at the swarm, landing only one hit for every several they landed on her. "She needs our help, Steven." She gaped in horror as she slipped, flinching as she came in contact with the rock.

The girl staggered to her feet, just then noticing the two children standing there. She gasped and yanked her sleeve down, but not before they had seen what she had been trying so hard to hide. The Centipeetles knocked her down once again, and the two sprang into action.

Steven drew his mother's sword from his gem and handed it to her. "You take out the Centipeetles. I'll go and help her up."

Connie nodded and rushed off, gripping the sword tightly in her hands, as she had in all her training sessions.

Steven ran towards the girl lying on the sand, kneeling beside her, throwing the few Centipeetles in their area in the other direction. "You're going to be alright. I want to help you." He said, observing her condition carefully. She'd taken a lot of damage.

She shook her head and tried to pull herself up, coughing and heaving, gasping for air.

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down." Steven gently pushed her back onto the sand. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"You can't tell anyone about this," She pleaded, the fear and desperation clear in her expression. "Please.."

"Your secret is safe with us." He assured her, gently lifting her sleeve to examine the pink gem on the top of her wrist. "Your gem isn't damaged. That's a good thing." He smiled a little, in hopes of calming her down.

"How do you know?" She asked, coughing sharply, squeezing her eyes shut in pain for a moment.

"I have one too." He whispered, pulling his shirt up a little with his free hand.

"Rose Quartz..." The girl murmured, her eyes widening. "You look... Different."

"Rose Quartz is my mom." He explained. "My name is Steven, and that's Connie over there."

Connie ran over before she could respond, holding a gem in her hand, which Steven took and bubbled away. "We're going to get you some help, okay?" Connie smiled reassuringly at the girl, pulling her sleeve back down.

Steven nodded, then turned to Connie. "I'll bubble her. Do you mind helping me carry her?" He slowly formed a bubble around the gem, causing her to panic.

"Don't worry! You're going to be okay!" He shouted, gently lifting her up off the ground. Connie grasped the other end of the bubble.

"What about her sword?"

"Leave it."

* * *

Steven set the bubble gently on the floor. The girl had lost consciousness while they'd carried her home.

" _Pearl_!" He shouted. " _Garnet! Amethyst!_ "

Pearl came running into the room, soon followed by the other gems, gasping in horror.

" _Steven_!" Her eyes widened. " _What happened_?!"

"She got attacked by a swarm of Centipeetles.. Please, you have to help her!"

"Corrupted gems don't usually attack humans..." She looked down at the girl. "Alright. Take her out of the bubble and bring her in the living room." She walked off to get the first aid materials, then came back into the living room. She knelt down at her side, gently cleansing the wound at the back of her head with alcohol, trying to gently separate the blood matted strands of her hair. She picked up a pair of scissors and clipped the reddened strands away. The wound had ceased bleeding, so there was no need for a bandage. She then moved to her legs, cleaning the cuts with more alcohol, stitching the deeper cuts closed.

"What are we going to do about her clothing?" Pearl asked, glancing over at Steven and Connie. "Her jeans are all torn up and bloody.." She gently pulled away a loose string.

"We can't fix them unless we take them off..." Connie responded, turning her gaze towards Steven.

"I guess I should probably go then..." Steven said, standing up. "I'll go wait outside."

"Amethyst, go with him." Pearl instructed. "He might be a little distraught.."

Amethyst nodded dutifully, following Steven outside and walking out towards the water.

Garnet picked a blanket up off of the couch, lying it over her legs after her jeans had been removed, to make sure she didn't get too cold.

Connie quickly closed the gashes with small, precise stitching, a skill she'd learned from her mother years ago. "They'll have to be washed, probably with bleach."

"I can take care of that." Garnet volunteered, taking the jeans and walking off towards the laundry room.

"What do we do now?" Pearl asked, looking down at the girl.

"We just wait for her to wake up."

* * *

A few hours had passed, and it was nearing nightfall. The girl hadn't woken up yet, but someone was always watching her, in case she did, and her jeans had been cleaned, repaired, and put back on.

"It's getting late. Maybe you should head home." Garnet suggested, looking down at Connie. "We don't want to anger your mother."

Just as Connie was about to reply, the girl started to awaken.


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Sleepless Teardrops

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: (12/21/16)**

 **To those of you who receive notifications whenever this story is updated: I have decided to change Julianne's name to Julianna, thus I've updated all the chapters to reflect this change. However I didn't notice the "Replace/Update Chapters" button until it was too late... So everything had to be deleted. Sadly including your reviews. :(  
However I will soon be publishing the prequel and sequel to this, even though it's been so long. I recommend you reread this if you are interested in any of the companion stories, due to the large amount of time from the ending of this story to the publishing date of the prequel. I apologize for any inconveniences, and that I had to delete all of your lovely reviews.  
With love,  
Connor  
**

 **To those of you who are just now reading this and didn't when it was originally published, you can ignore all of that. The first few prequel chapters should start coming out sometime around Christmas.**

The girl groaned softly as she opened her eyes, lifting her arm above her eyes to shield her from the light, breathing a silent sigh of relief upon seeing her gem was covered.

"You're awake." Connie smiled softly, looking down at her. "Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"

"My head.." She murmured. "And everywhere else." She chuckled faintly, looking up at the girl and lowering her arm. "But I'll be fine. Thank you.."

"Of course." Connie beckoned for Steven to come over, and he knelt down beside her, the other gems standing behind them.

"What's your name?" Steven asked. "I'm Steven, and this is Connie, Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst." He said, pointing to each person as he said their name.

"I'm Julianna." She responded with a small smile. She slowly pulled herself into a sitting position, looking up at the others, panicking internally, but not letting it show. These were the Crystal Gems- the traitors that Peridot had warned her of so many years ago.

But how bad could they really be if they had saved her life?

A voice interrupted her thoughts. "What happened to you?" Garnet asked, wrapping her arms around Pearl gently.

"She was attacked by Centipeetles," Steven responded, in case she didn't remember. "And she fell and hit her head on some rocks."

"Yeah," Julianna agreed. "Steven's right."

Garnet nodded. "Should we call your parents?"

"I don't exactly have ' _parents'_." She looked away from them and towards the floor.

"I'm sorry to hear that..." Pearl said, frowning slightly.

"It's fine..."

"Should we bring you home?" Garnet looked down at the girl. She looked to be a few years older than Steven and Connie.

"I don't really have a home.. I kinda just.. wander. Like a nomad."

"You could stay here." Amethyst offered.

Julianna shook her head. "No, that's okay. I've already gotten in the way enough.."

"It'd be okay. Until you found a place." Amethyst persisted. She saw something in Julianna. Something special. And she couldn't bring herself to let her go out on the streets.

"I'm not really looking for a place.. I'll be fine, really."

"Just until your injuries heal up."

Julianna bit her tongue in thought. Amethyst likely wouldn't back down, but it was so risky...

"If you insist..."

"It'll be no trouble, really." Pearl cut in. "You would just have to share a room with Amethyst... Unfortunate as that is.."

Julianna chuckled softly. "I'm sure it'll be alright."

* * *

Amethyst showed Julianna around her room, trying to keep herself from staring at her. She truly was magnificent, even if she didn't realize it. Her long hair, bright, grey eyes, pale radiant skin... Everything about her was truly amazing. She had her flaws, her imperfections, as did anyone else. But that only made her all the more perfect in Amethyst's vision.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" Julianna asked quietly.

"You can take my bed, and I can just take the floor or something." She answered.

"I don't want to make you sleep on the floor, Amethyst..."

"There's enough room for us both, if you don't mind sharing.."

"Not at all." She blushed faintly, hoping she wouldn't notice. She hadn't actually slept in thousands of years, and she'd forgotten how it'd felt.

"You okay there?" Amethyst waved her hand in front of her face. "You're spacing out."

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You should probably get some sleep. You look beat."

 _"Gee, thanks_." Julianna muttered sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant! I-"

"I'm just kidding, Amethyst. I know."

Amethyst chuckled and playfully punched her shoulder. "Dork."

Julianna laughed and shoved her, making her fall on the bed. She shrieked as Amethyst grabbed her arm and pulling her down with her, landing on her abdomen.

"Guess you really fell for me, hmm?"

She scoffed lightly and rolled off of Amethyst. "You wish."

Amethyst just laughed. "You will eventually."

"Don't get too cocky." She yawned softly, turning on her side. "Goodnight."

Julianna drifted off to sleep, something she hadn't done in thousands of years. The darkness of Amethyst's room enveloped her, the sound of her soft breath putting her at ease. She revelled in the moment, not knowing when it'd happen again. A cold breeze came in through the windows, and she moved closer to Amethyst, gently curling into her side, smiling in her sleep at her warmth as she laid her head against her shoulder. She murmured softly as Amethyst wrapped her arms around her, further shielding her from the cold.

* * *

 _The young gem had no idea where she was as she opened her eyes, finding herself lying on a cold, marble floor. The room was seemingly empty, except for her, and an odd machine behind her head. She tried to stand, her small legs wobbling. She lasted about a second before she fell down, and she cried out in frustration and pain._

 _Peridot, having heard her cry, came into the room, a small smirk etched on her green lips._ _ **Her creation was finally complete.**_

 _"Look at you." She mused, gently lifting the girl up onto her feet, helping her balance. She was about the height of a human child two years of age, as were all newly born gems._

 _"Mama?" The little gem murmured, reaching her hand upwards towards Peridot._

 _"I'm not your mother." She stated. "You haven't got one." She observed her condition, biting her lip and squinting in thought. "I'm just your mentor."_

 _The girl frowned slightly, but nodded._

 _"Hmm... What do I call you?" Peridot wondered. She had to give her a human name, just another measure of ownership over the life she had created. She thought for a moment, watching closely as the young gem toddled around, trying to learn to walk. She gently grabbed her arm and pulled her towards her. "Don't fall." She warned. She pondered the situation a moment, then decided on a name._

 _"I think I'll call you Julianna."_

* * *

Warm teardrops plinked against Amethyst's arm, bringing her out of her slumber. "Julianna." She murmured, shaking her shoulders gently. She didn't respond, so she gently smacked her cheek.

"Julianna, wake up."

"What?" She murmured, looking over at Amethyst.

"You were crying..."

"It must've just been a bad dream.." Julianna looked away from her, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I think it's more than that..."

"No," she lied. "Just the dream." Truthfully, she missed Peridot more than anything. But how could

she tell Amethyst that without revealing her identity?

Amethyst examined her, not entirely believing it. "You can tell me if something's bothering you.."

She shook her head. "I'm fine. I promise." She adjusted her position, turning her back to Amethyst, staring out the window and trying to contain herself.

 _"Will she_ _ **ever**_ _find me?"_

* * *

Pearl and Garnet laid awake, curled up together and listening to Amethyst and Julianna's conversation through the wall.

"What do you think happened, Garnet?" Pearl mused.

"I'm not sure." She answered. "But she _did_ just get attacked. Don't worry about it. Amethyst will be there for her."

"But Amethyst is incredibly irresponsible." Pearl groaned.

Garnet chuckled lowly. "Maybe so. But not near as much as she used to be.. Steven really changed her."

"He changed all of us..." Pearl looked down at the floor. "Rose especially..."

Garnet nodded and hugged her tighter. "Rose might be gone, but Steven brought us closer together. We're all a family now."


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Blooming, Breaking

"So... What was that thing you were going to show me yesterday?" Connie asked.

"Oh, um..." Steven chuckled slightly. "I don't really remember." Truthfully, it had only been an excuse to spend time with her, but it had escalated into something extreme. Which was good, in a way, since he hadn't had to make up something stupid to cover it up.

"Maybe we could go back down the beach and look for it." Connie suggested. "It might help you remember." Truly, she had the same motive Steven had, although she didn't know of his.

Steven shrugged. "Yeah, why not?" He grinned nervously, butterflies in his stomach. He stood up and walked down the stairs, calling out to Pearl and Garnet. "We're going for a walk! We'll be back later!"

"You mind if we tag along?" Garnet asked, gazing at Pearl and taking her hand.

"Yeah, sure." He answered.

"What do you say?" Garnet asked, searching her expression for approval.

"Sure." Pearl agreed, blushing slightly. "That'd be nice."

Steven and Connie ran out the door, Pearl and Garnet following them. They gave them their space, still keeping an eye on them. They weren't close enough to hear any conversation, but didn't let the gap between them get too far.

"How long do you think it'll be before they get together?" Garnet wondered aloud.

"Not too long." Pearl responded. "Their attraction to each other is so obvious, I'm shocked they don't see it."

Garnet chuckled softly, a few moments of comfortable silence following as they walked along the sand, hands intertwined. The facets of Garnet's gem pressed into Pearl's palm, but she didn't mind. All that mattered was that they were together.

"I love you." The white gem murmured, a smile spread over her lips, her eyes raised to Garnet's height.

"I love you too." She echoed, smiling down upon her lover.

"I love you more." She teased, nudging her side gently.

"Impossible." Garnet laughed softly, placing a gentle kiss atop her head.

"Oh, really?" Pearl countered, moving so she stood in front of her. "Maybe this will change your mind." She pressed her lips against hers, wrapping her arms around Garnet's neck, leaning closer to her, gem shining. Garnet rested her hands on Pearl's hips, her gems glowing dimly, red light reflecting off the water ever so slightly. Fireworks crackled between them, lighting them up inside as they shared their passionate embrace.

* * *

"There really wasn't anything I wanted to show you..." Steven admitted after awhile.

"I know." Connie confessed, chuckling slightly. "If it was that important, you wouldn't have forgotten. Besides, it's good that we got out. If we hadn't, who knows what would have happened to Julianna.."

She shivered slightly at the thought, but quickly snapped out of it.

"We saved a life." Steven agreed, a smile stretching across his face.

"And that's what matters." Connie brushed her hand against his, blushing intensely when Steven gently grasped it.

"Should I not have done that? Steven asked quietly, noticing her reddened cheeks.

"No, it's okay..." She smiled nervously, her heart pounding. They continued along, the sky slowly darkening, until the sun had disappeared almost completely.

"We're almost to the city... Should I just take you home? I don't want you to get in trouble for missing curfew.."

"That would be nice, if you wouldn't mind."

Steven nodded. "Yeah, of course." He turned to tell Garnet and Pearl, but saw that they were standing near the water, their lips pressed together. "Um... Okay." He blushed profusely and turned back the other way.

"What was that about?" Connie asked, referring to his reddened face.

"They're, um.. yeah."

Connie chuckled in understanding. "Oh, okay."

* * *

About a block away from Connie's apartment, Connie regretfully let go of Steven's hand, biting her bottom lip.

Steven nodded in understanding, knowing that her parents likely would not approve. "It's okay." He smiled at her, chuckling softly at the light blush under her glasses.

"Thank you for walking me home." Connie dug through her pockets for her keys. "Sorry I left my stuff in your room."

"That's okay. Goodnight, Connie." He looked to make sure no one saw, then quickly and gently kissed her forehead before heading back towards his house, heart in his throat.

* * *

Steven opened the door and tiptoed inside, being careful not to wake anyone. The lights were all turned off, and he wasn't quite sure if Pearl and Garnet were home yet. He walked up to his room, surprised to find Pearl standing by the window.

"Oh. Hi, Pearl." He smiled at her.

"Hello, Steven." She smiled back, her face slightly blue. "Look, um, about earlier.." She chuckled softly. "I don't know how much you saw..."

"Um, you and Garnet were kissing... I was going to tell you that I was bringing Connie home, and I turned around to that."

Pearl nodded, blushing deeper. "Sorry if we broke apart the group."

"It's alright. No worries." He yawned softly, opening his dresser and pulling out a pair of pajamas.

"Night, Pearl." He murmured sleepily, making his way down the hall.

"Goodnight, Steven."

* * *

"Where'd everyone else go?" Julianna asked, following Amethyst out of her room, only to find an empty house.

"I'm not sure." Amethyst shrugged. "It can't have been too important. They'll be back soon... Are you hungry?"

Julianna was confused for a moment, but nodded her head. She had to keep her human disguise believable. "A little bit."

"Okay." She opened up the refrigerator and pulled out the leftover spaghetti from the night before and stuck it in the microwave, getting out plates for them both. Once the microwave went off, she divided it onto the plates and handed one to Julianna, along with a fork.

"Thank you." She smiled a little and sat next to Amethyst at the counter, glancing at the odd metal object in her hands.

 _"What the hell is this thing?"_

Amethyst laughed slightly. "Have you not seen a fork before?"

"Um, no?" She blushed faintly, feeling incredibly stupid. She copied Amethyst's actions as she started eating, somehow managing it. She'd never taken part in any human customs, aside from sleep, so this was very new to her.

"Yeah, like that." Amethyst said through a mouth full of noodles, bearing no shame in her lack of manners.

* * *

The sky had darkened, and everyone had gone to sleep. Rain started to fall, droplets plinking softly against the windows. Amethyst lay awake, Juliane curled up against her side, sleeping peacefully. She absentmindedly played with a strand of her hair, watching through her window as the rain increased, falling in sheets over the darkened terrain. The sky flashed with lightning and cracked with thunder, making Julianna jump up from her sleep.

Amethyst chuckled. "It's just thunder, Julianna. Nothing to worry about."

"I know." She murmured, rubbing her eyes. "I was just startled."

"Are you gonna go back to sleep?"

"Mm hmm." She laid her head on Amethyst's shoulder and fell asleep just as quickly as she'd awoken.

Amethyst's face heated up, colored with violet. As much as she might have hated to admit it, Julianna looked cute nestled up to her like that; her pink lips pursed gently in thought, blonde hair tousled partially over her face.

" _Amethyst, you_ _ **can't**_ _think like that!_ " Her rational mind screamed to her. " _She's a_ _ **human**_!"

Her stomach twisted. She'd never thought of that before, and it was too late now.

* * *

 _A bright flash encased her vision, thunderous booming echoing in her ears. She'd had no idea what had just happened, blacking out as she made contact with the nearby wall._

 _Upon her awakening, she shakily stood, brushing crumbles of concrete off of her legs and torso, groaning softly as she ran her hand over bruised flesh. She lifted her shirt a few inches, wincing at the large purple spot on her abdomen, one that would surely last awhile. Her eardrums warbled, high pitched ringing filling her head. She ignored it, forcing her way out of the building's remnants with her dwindling strength. A single thought pushed her onward, giving her the strength she lacked. With staggering footsteps and heaving breath, she trudged out of the old training center, glancing back upon it's misery. It was now only the dust of it's former glory, ruined and forgotten._

 _"_ _ **Peridot**_ _!" She searched the area for her leader in despair, her heart wrenching when her gaze fell upon her. She ran to her, ignoring the burning in her legs and lungs, much too insignificant to even hardly consider._

 _The green gem lay motionless on the ground among a pile of fine dust brick, limb enhancers gone, A small crack had taken place in the top point of her triangular gem, it's thin lines spreading across the surface slowly. Her time had run short._

 _"_ _ **PERIDOT**_ _!" She knelt down beside her, gently shaking her shoulders, but to no avail. "No no no no no no!" Her eyes spilled over, a suppressed sob coming forth from her lips. "Don't leave me!" She pressed her lips against hers in vain attempt to revive her, only to feel the last of the green gem's warmth seep from her body. She broke the embrace from her cold lips, trembling fearfully as she faded away._

* * *

Julianna's dream faded away, the cold of realization sinking into her, gentle tears falling from closed eyes

 _She was gone too._

* * *

Amethyst laid awake, watching hesitantly as Julianna slept. Something wasn't right, she could tell, but what was she to do? Her heart wrenched as she saw her start to cry. She murmured under her breath for several minutes, only one word distinguishable.

 _Peridot._


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Hold Me Softly

Steven picked up his phone and dialed the number, holding the device to his ear, frowning slightly as he received the answering machine.

" _Hi, you've reached the Maheswarans-"_ He pressed the button to end the call and sighed heavily. It was a beautiful day outside, and he wanted someone to spend it with, her in particular.

Moments later, his phone vibrated, lifting his spirits.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Steven. You called?" Connie's voice came through the other end, bringing a smile to his face.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today." He said, crossing the fingers on his free hand.

"Sure, that sounds great. I have to help my mom with the groceries first, though. I'll be there in an hour."

* * *

Steven waited at the window, boredom growing as the minutes ticked by.

Inspiration suddenly hit, and he ran to his mother's room.

"Room, I need a rose, a pen, a glow stick, and a piece of paper, please!" The room complied, the requested items appearing on a small desk.

He sat down in the chair and proceeded to write his heart out.

 _The Best Bubble_

 _I'm not quite sure what I expected on the day of the parade_

 _Probably nothing special_

 _Just an average summer parade, the usual floats, all of that._

 _But, for the following year, your bracelet glowed on my nightstand as I slept._

 _I had never seen you around before then_

 _But I saw something others didn't._

 _Even before we'd ever talked, I saw_

 _Intelligence_

 _Beauty_

 _A kind heart_

 _And I wondered why you'd been alone._

 _I held on to your bracelet_

 _Hoping one day we'd meet again_

 _The day I accidentally trapped us in a bubble was one of my best days._

 _I made my first real friend that was my age._

 _But who would've known it'd be something more?_

 _After awhile, I began to notice_

 _Long, dark, beautiful hair_

 _Sun kissed skin_

 _Deep hazel eyes._

 _Perfection._

 _She brings the sunshine._

 _When she is here, my world is light._

 _In her absence, there is only darkness._

 _What lies within her heart?_

* * *

Steven trimmed away the excess paper and examined the rose, flinching as he cut his thumb on a thorn. He gently pried it off, as well as the other thorns, then wrapped the paper delicately around the stem. He walked out of his mother's room and to his own, placing the note and flower in the bun pocket of his cheeseburger backpack, where he hoped nothing would hurt it. He zipped it tenderly, then proceeded to gather some materials. He grabbed a blanket from the closet and tucked it into the back, slinging the bag over his shoulder delicately and running down the stairs. He quickly threw together some sandwiches and juice boxes, putting them in a plastic bag and tucking it away in his backpack, heading outside just as Connie came into view.

"Hey, Connie!" He waved as he ran down the stairs.

"Hi, Steven... Why the backpack?" She asked, intrigued.

"I have an adventure planned. Don't worry, we'll make it back in time for " _Under The Knife_ " tonight.

"I forgot all about that." Connie admitted, laughing softly. "What are your plans?"

"You'll see." He led her down the beach to a warp pad. "Is it okay if you're blindfolded for a little bit? I won't let you get hurt."

"Oh, um, okay." She twiddled her thumbs nervously. What could he _possibly_ have planned?

He warped her to the island, putting his hands over her eyes and walking towards the waterfall.

"Surprise." He uncovered her eyes, grinning sheepishly.

Connie gasped. "Steven! This is wonderful!" She exclaimed.

"That's not all." He said, unfolding the blanket and laying out the food he'd packed.

She took a seat beside him, amazed. "You did all this for me?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I did... Do you like it?"

She beamed. "It's beautiful." She unwrapped a sandwich. The bread had gotten a little squished, but she didn't care. "Thank you, Steven.."

"Of course." He shyly dug through his bag, heart racing as he brushed his fingertips against the petals of the rose in the bread pocket. "There's, um, one more thing." He felt for the stem and pulled it out of the bag.

"Hm?" She looked at him, smiling and blushing faintly as he handed her the rose. "Oh, Steven... It's beautiful.." She slowly uncurled the paper, reading the heartfelt words, heart swollen with joy. "What lies within her heart?" She read aloud, her eyes full of tears, deeply touched by his gesture. "Do you really want to know?"

Steven nodded hesitantly, bracing himself for whatever came next, expecting to be let down.

Connie took a small deep breath and gently put her lips against his, her cheeks heating up in a blush. His lips were coarse, yet oddly gentle, fitting against hers perfectly. After a moment she moved away, her face darkened with blush.

Steven stared at her, wide eyed in shock.

"Sh-Should I not have done that?"

"I-It's fine.." He stammered. "I didn't expect that.." His cheeks flushed light red, and he grinned at Connie shyly.

"What does this make us?" Connie asked, looking slightly worried.

"Let's not put a label on it yet. We're just.. _Us_. Connie, and Steven. That's all we need to be."

* * *

With all the housework done, Amethyst and Julianna away in Amethyst's room, and Steven and Connie occupied with " _Under The Knife_ ", Pearl found herself in an unusual state. Normally, there was always something to be done, never a spare moment. But in this instance, everything was taken care of.

So, she went to find Garnet, who was reading the newspaper in the family room, not that there was much to read about in their quiet little beach town. Pearl grabbed a novel and nestled against her legs, smiling softly. She opened the book, but didn't actually read, just enjoying the moment.

Garnet smiled a little and looked down at her, folding up the newspaper and setting it on the table. She adjusted her position and pulled Pearl closer, gently wrapping her arms around her. Pearl did the same, laying her head on Garnet's chest.

They didn't speak, no words needing to be said. Moments passed unnoticed as they stared into each other's eyes, their feelings of affection growing stronger. Their lips met, their surges of passion bubbling together in the warm embrace. Garnet adjusted her position, then pulled Pearl closer, so she rested atop her legs. Pearl leaned against her chest, shyly placing her hands on the red gem's hips. Her lips parted ever so slightly, and she faintly gasped as Garnet took her opportunity, gently pressing her tongue through her lips, cautiously exploring as the white gem shivered in pleasure. A soft moan escaped Pearl's lips, and Garnet slowly slipped her hand underneath Pearl's shirt.

Pearl moved her hand from the red gem's hip and placed it atop her wrist, ending the embrace.

Garnet retracted her hand. "I'm sorry.."

"It's okay." Pearl gently climbed off her lap and curled up at her side, planting one last short, gentle kiss on Garnet's lips.


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Sinking Sands

Amethyst sighed softly. "Julianna." She shook her gently, and her eyes snapped right open.

"I did it again, didn't I?"

"It's alright."

Julianna groaned and rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Amethyst."

"Are you okay? This is the second time that this has happened..."

"Yeah. They're just nightmares, I'll be okay." She sat up slightly and moved a few inches away from Amethyst to give her space. She pulled her knees to her chest, and moved her hair from her face, shivering as the back of her wrist brushed against her lips. They were cold, making the dream feel much more real than it had before.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Amethyst offered, sitting up and crossing her legs. She wiped the teardrops from her skin, her worries increasing.

"I don't remember.." She lied. Truthfully, she remembered every second, but she couldn't let her cover down.

"You were talking." Amethyst persisted. "You said something about Peridot.. Julianna, what's going on?"

Julianna creased her eyebrows. "Peridot? I have no idea who that is, Amethyst."

Amethyst gave her a look, her eyes falling on her wrist. A narrow sliver of her gem showed through the sleeve of her shirt, the pale pink color alarming her. "What happened to your arm?"

Julianna glanced down at her wrist, yanking the sleeve down. "Nothing. What are you talking about?"

"There was something on your wrist. I saw it."

"There's nothing on my- _hey_!" She pulled her arm away from Amethyst, who'd been trying to pull up her sleeve. She got up off the bed, not expecting Amethyst to follow. "Stop it!" She stumbled backwards towards the wall, tripping and crashing out the window. She smacked her arm on the railing of the balcony, grunting as she landed in the sand below.

Steven, Connie, Garnet and Pearl ran out of the house to see what was going on, utterly shocked by the commotion.

Amethyst leapt out of the window after her, landing in the water. She grasped her arm tightly.

"AMETHYST! GET _OFF!"_ Desperately, Julianna tried to push her off, but she had already pulled up her sleeve, revealing the gem on the top of her wrist, the pink diamond glittering modestly in the sun. Her heart pounded in terror, and she stood frozen. The Crystal Gems and their human counterparts stood around her in a sort of semi-circle, and there was nowhere to run besides a vast ocean, in which she'd face certain death. While none of them had their weapons drawn, there was still the underlying threat of attack. If she moved, she'd be dead.

Amethyst stared at her wrist in shock, then moved her gaze to look her in the eye.

" _Please don't kill me_..." She pleaded, and trembled with dread as she stepped backward, stumbling and falling in the shallow waves.

Garnet stepped forward and extended her hand to the distraught gem. "Julianna... If that is even your name-"

"It is!" Julianna protested. "I swear-"

Garnet gave her a look, and she silenced her pleas. "We're not going to hurt you." Garnet gently grasped her hand and pulled her up from the water, then let go. "As long as you do the same for us."

"We'd never hurt you." Pearl agreed, magicking a towel and wrapping it around her quaking shoulders, gently placing her hand on her right shoulder. "What ever made you think that?"

Julianna lowered her eyes to hide her tears. "That's what Peridot told me..."

" _Peridot_?" She questioned, raising her eyebrows, lowering her arm.

She nodded, choking on a cry.

"Let's get you in dry clothes." Garnet interrupted. "We can talk later." She gently placed her hand in the center of her back, leading her inside.

* * *

Steven and Connie stood dumbstruck in the aftermath of the events.

"What does any of this have to do with Peridot?" Connie wondered aloud.

"I'm not sure." Steven admitted. "But, I have a feeling she'll explain it all soon. We should go in."

She nodded. "Yeah, probably... Do you think she'll be okay?"

"I hope so."

* * *

The Crystal Gems sat in a circle in the living room, all eyes on Julianna, paying no heed to the pouring rain and dark skies. She'd abandoned her previous attire, donning grey jeans and a light blue tee shirt that rested loosely over her figure, clinging slightly in the right places, attracting Amethyst's attention, although she'd tried to be subtle about it. Her hair was still damp from falling into the water, the darkened, slightly curled strands hanging loosely over her left shoulder, pulled to the side in an elastic band. A hardly touched mug of tea rested between crossed legs, her hands rested on the sides. Her deep grey eyes shone with hurt, reflecting everything she'd suffered in her thousands of years.

Steven and Connie sat in front of the couch, sharing the large comforter off of Steven's bed. Underneath it they held hands, their embrace covered in the clouds of fabric. Neither of them were really in the mood to deal with Amethyst's bantering, so they discreetly displayed their affections. Connie's head laid on Steven's shoulder, and Steven's head rested on hers.

Garnet and Pearl were seated between them and Amethyst, curled up together. Garnet's arms were wrapped around Pearl's abdomen, her legs bent around hers, with Pearl seated in front of her, her back pressed against Garnet's torso, their hands wrapped together and resting on Pearl's legs.

Garnet looked at Julianna expectantly, waiting for her to speak. "Why don't you start with how you were involved with Peridot?" She prompted.

"It all started when I was born." Julianna spoke quietly, avoiding their gaze. "I woke up in an empty room, and then Peridot came in." Her heart clenched at the mention of her name, but she continued on, maintaining her composure the best she could. "She told me that I didn't have a mother, and that she was assigned to be my mentor, or something like that. She named me, and I spent the first five hundred years of my life with her. I was mostly her companion, for a time, until she sent me off to train for battle. She would always mention a war, another planet, traitors to our kind... I never understood what she meant; she wouldn't explain. Come to think of it, she rarely explained anything I asked her about, claiming that it was beyond my understanding, and she wouldn't speak of it afterward. I got badly hurt in training, and she pulled me from it, before I could even discover my weapon, or throw a halfway decent punch. I went back to being her companion, and after awhile it turned into something else... We loved each other." Silent tears streamed down her cheeks, but she continued on. "After I'd lived for about five hundred years, she sent me on a mission in an abandoned gem training center, and something caused it to explode while I was inside, and it launched me here to Earth. I stayed here and waited for her, but she never showed up..."

"How long has it been?" Steven asked, curious. Her story was deeply touching, unlike anything he'd heard about before.

" _Six thousand years_."

The gems fell into silence, the only sound the falling rain, and Julianna's gentle sobs.

"Julianna.." Garnet spoke, her voice light with hesitation, treading on dangerous ground. "Peridot isn't who you think she is. She manipulated you. Only used you for her physical needs."

"What?" Her heart fell. "She would never-"

"She would. And she did." Pearl affirmed. "You said she never explained things to you, and withheld you from your training.. She kept you in the dark, so you had no choice to leave her."

Amethyst nodded, wrapping her arms around Julianna's abdomen to soothe her. "They're right, Julianna..." She murmured, rubbing gentle circles between her shoulder blades.

Julianna shook her head, refusing to believe it. "They can't be... She told me she loved me... A-And she meant it.."

"She didn't feel anything for you, Julianna." Garnet restated. "That's just how Peridot is. This is what she does- lies, manipulates, steals..."

Julianna said nothing, realization slowly starting to sink in.


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Maybe It's Time

Hours had passed since Julianna had learned the truth about Peridot, yet the tears wouldn't stop. She truly thought that Peridot had loved her, and didn't know what to believe. She was torn in two- part of her still clung to the possibility that Peridot had done no wrong. Maybe the Crystal Gems had a biased view because Peridot was their enemy. Maybe Peridot had truly loved her.

Her other half knew the truth. Garnet and Pearl had been telling her the truth. They were trustworthy- saving her life from Centipeetle attacks, giving her a chance to explain without attacking her... After all that, how could they possibly lie to her?

But regardless of what was the truth, in the deepest confines of her heart, no matter how small they might be, she still loved Peridot, and the thought of letting go cut sharper than a thousand knives.

Amethyst moved her from her thoughts as she hugged her gently. "Stop crying, Julianna..." She practically begged. "It hurts to see you so upset..."

"I'm sorry..." She wiped her eyes and looked down at her, feeling a little odd with her close proximity, but didn't push her away.

"I'm sorry she did that to you... You don't deserve it."

"That's what she created me for." She responded. "To be her companion."

"I think you should leave her, Julianna. You deserve better than her. You could stay with us. Permanently. We could help you train. You could be a Crystal Gem, and defend the Earth.. Just think about it. Please?"

"I hate the Earth... But I'll stay, if that's what you really want."

Amethyst nodded gleefully, hugging her tighter. "That's awesome! Thank you.."

"No problem..." Julianna shyly put her arms around Amethyst, who then proceeded to lay her head against her abdomen.

Amethyst's heart quickened at Julianna's embrace, her cheeks heated with violet. She felt a strong, undeniable attraction to her, even though they'd only known each other for about a week. It truly hurt her inside to see her cry so much, and she felt lighter now that her tears had ceased. It excited her to know that she would stay with them, and she couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't be so lonely anymore.

"I love you." She murmured, lost in the moment, her voice slightly muffled, as her face was lightly pressed against her side.

" _What?!"_ Julianna's eyes widened, and she froze in shock. She stared incredulously at Amethyst, face tinged with pink.

Amethyst clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes welling with tears. "I-I'm sorry! I-"

"It's okay.." She murmured. "You just startled me." She chuckled faintly. "Don't cry, Amethyst, I'm not mad at you." She gingerly wiped a tear away with her fingertips, jumping slightly as Amethyst threw her arms around her again.

"I-I meant it..." She held onto her tightly, petrified that if she let go, she would leave.

"I know." She gently adjusted her arms, loosening the purple gem's grip on her torso.

"Sorry.." She mumbled, looking up at her. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's fine. Really." She pushed hair out of Amethyst's face out of habit, chuckling softly at her violet cheeks, but said nothing.

Amethyst stared up at her, resisting the urge to reach up and kiss her lips. She eventually averted her gaze, looking down at the sheets. "Are you going to leave Peridot?" She questioned, silently hoping that she would.

"I don't know... It's been so long..."

"Don't you think she would have come back for you by now?"

"Maybe she doesn't know I'm here.. She could be looking for me, in another place.."

"Think about what Garnet and Pearl told you..."

She scoffed lightly. "What would Garnet and Pearl know? They didn't know Peridot like I did."

Amethyst stayed quiet, not sure of what to say.

"Maybe you're right... Maybe I should let her go..."

Amethyst lightly squeezed her hand in reassurance, trying to keep her from another bout of tears. "I really think you should. You deserve better than her."

Julianna laid her head on her shoulder, shifting her position to Amethyst's height. "I guess so..."

"It's okay to let go, Julianna." She assured her. "You can do this."

She bit her lip. "We could try to make something work... Especially with what you said earlier..."

"You don't have to do this if you're not-"

"I want to." She interrupted. Someone had to take Peridot's place, and if Amethyst really, truly cared for her... What was the harm in it?

* * *

Connie and Steven danced by the waterfall, a soft, romantic tune playing from Steven's cellphone, and they awkwardly stepped in time to the rhythm, stumbling and tripping over each other's feet. But, as adorably awkward as it was, it didn't matter to them. They had each other, and that was all that mattered.

Connie cried out in surprise as she tumbled into the pool of the waterfall, Steven landing beside her. He laughed and helped her stand, pushing wet strands of hair from her face. "Sorry about that..." His cheeks flushed slightly.

"It's fine... I'm the one who should be sorry.."

"Huh? For what?"

"For this!" She pushed him in the water and tackled him, laughing uncontrollably.

"Hey!" Steven shouted, laughing at her antics. "That wasn't very nice!" He splashed water in her direction and got up to chase her. Connie shrieked and ran deeper into the water, still laughing. She slipped on a patch of sand, falling backwards onto Steven.

His gem began to glow, reflecting on the water. Bright, blinding white illuminated the area momentarily, then faded away just as quickly as it had come.

Stevonnie lifted its arm, tiny droplets of water dripping onto its forehead. It chuckled; a melodious mixture of it's component's voices; and stood up.

" _WE'RE AN EXPERIENCE_!" Stevonnie shouted gleefully, outstretching its arms for a moment. It then proceeded to run around the island, even the tallest of trees seeming much less intimidating with their added height. Stevonnie ran happily through the landscape until the sun had started to sink below the ocean's horizon. It eventually collapsed against the sand in exhaustion, defusing in a much less grander flash, leaving Steven and Connie lying on the sand, breathing heavy.

"That was amazing." Connie smiled giddily, her breathing still short and labored.

Steven nodded in agreement, unable to speak from excitement.


	19. Chapter Eighteen: The Return

- **Two Months Later** -

Peridot tapped at the dashboard inside her pod, groaning in irritance. Her vehicle was nearly out of fuel, and she was still about one hundred miles from Earth.

"What kind of _**CLOD**_ builds such a fuel deficient vehicle?!" She shouted in frustration, pulling her hands through her hair, a few strands falling out of their place. She huffed and switched off the lights, the pod dark except for the dim green glow of the touchscreen dashboard, and from the stars outside the vehicle. She leaned against the wall and stared out the window in boredom, muttering angrily under her breath. She did _not_ need her mission delayed.

With hardly even an ounce of fuel left, Peridot entered Earth's orbit, circling through the sky, looking for a discreet place to land her pod.

" _What sad, miserable creatures.._ " She thought bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest. " _However intriguing they may be..._ " She studied the land more closely as her fuel level dropped, a pink glint of light striking her eyes and catching her attention. She blinked and squinted, wondering what had caused it. She took a closer look, zooming in her binoculars, shocked at what she saw.

 _Julianna._

"How is she still alive?!" She exclaimed in horror. "The explosion broke her gem! I found the pieces- _SHE SHOULD BE DEAD! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!"_

The pod beeped and whirred, all the lights shutting off, plummeting into the cornfield down below.

* * *

Julianna stood by the shoreline with Amethyst, scanning the area for the bracelet she'd dropped.

"Are you sure it's out here, Amethyst?" She asked. "I don't see it.." She bent down to get a closer look, not seeing the pod pass through the air above her.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I had it on when I was out here earlier, and then it went missing."

"Ah. Here it is." She picked it up from the water and brushed the sand off, clasping it back around Amethyst's wrist.

"Thanks... Sorry I lost it." She blushed at the brief contact of her hand.

"It's fine." Julianna responded. "It happens."

"I know, but it's special... Since you gave it to me.." She smiled a little, hugging her gently.

Julianna blushed faintly, wrapping her arms around her waist. "It's just a bracelet, Amethyst. Don't beat yourself up over it."

A thin billow of smoke rose from Peridot's pod as it lay smashed among the corn stalks.

" _ **AARGH**_!" She screamed in irritation. "You've got to be **kidding** me!" She kicked the machine, a soft metallic clang resounding as her foot enhancer came into contact with the side of the vehicle. " _ **CLODS**_!" The machine then burst into flame, making her scream and jump back. The flames spread towards the crops, and she panicked.

" _ **SHIT! NO NO NO NO NO**_ **!** " She ran into the burning pod and hastily wrestled the fire extinguisher from its place on the wall, spraying it all over the area. She had surely attracted some attention.

The Crystal Gems were gathered in the living room, as usual for a night with no gem monsters. Amethyst, Steven, and Julianna sat on the couch closest to the window with Steven in the middle, who was unaware of his third wheeling.

Pearl and Garnet were curled up in their usual position, their arms wrapped around each other, hands intertwined in front of them. They were mostly quiet, not much needing to be said, just staring up into each other's eyes.

Steven turned and stared out the window, an orange glow in the distance catching his eye. "Um, guys, I think there's something wrong.." He turned to look at them, a worried expression on his face.

Amethyst glanced out the window. "Um, yeah... That's definitely fire, you guys."

The gems had made their way to the field, smoke twirling into the air and clouding the ground, hazing their view. A shadowy figure stumbled out of the stalks, and the Crystal Gems readied their weapons.

" _ **Peridot**_." Garnet glared at the triangular headed figure, seething with anger.

Peridot cried out in surprise, the smoke clearing, displaying the figures standing before her, her eyes widening upon seeing Julianna. She stared at her in bewilderment, old, deeply buried feelings stirring up. She wanted her. _Badly_. And she'd do almost anything to get her back.

Peridot stopped herself mid thought. Julianna was supposed to be _dead_ , not fighting with traitors! "Wha- _**Julianna**_ \- You-You're not supposed to be with- these _**CLODS**_!" She shouted, clenching her fists.

"And why not?" Garnet challenged. "Because we don't mistreat her?"

"Because you're all _**traitors**_!"

"Julianna's on our side now, Peridot. You can't hurt her any longer. Give up."

"I'll never surrender to you clods!" She changed her tone of voice, looking her past lover straight in the eye. "Come on, Julianna... Come back on the right side."

Julianna stood frozen, all eyes on her. Her heart pounded erratically, and she squeezed her eyes shut, caving to tears under the tension. She didn't want to hurt Peridot, but she couldn't betray her team either, especially not Amethyst.

"It's okay, Julianna." Amethyst murmured. "You don't have to fight her. We can take her. Just go."

She nodded and slowly turned away, wanting to run, but trying to maintain what little dignity she had left. As soon as she was out of earshot she broke down and let her tears fall, not making any effort to brush them away, or unblur her vision. She somehow made her way to the temple, but didn't go inside, not wanting to be reminded of how alone she truly was.

* * *

The gems stood silently in their positions for battle, watching Julianna go. Their grip on their weapons tightened. Peridot would have no chance at victory, but her pride kept her planted firmly on the ground.

"How could you do that to her, Peridot?!" Garnet demanded. Love was an especially important thing for her, and this made her absolutely furious. "She doesn't deserve that."

Peridot simply laughed, not even the slightest etch of remorse in her wicked expression. "And who are _you_ to judge? You're just a traitor." The fingers of her limb enhancers began to spin. "Now, while I'd love to stay and chat, I have business to attend to. So long, Crystal Clods!" She extended her arm and rose into the air, her laughter echoing long after she'd disappeared from view.

"So... What now?" Steven asked moments later, breaking the silence.

"We have to find Julianna. Make sure she-" Garnet paused for a moment, rethinking her word choices. "Make sure she's okay. That's our first priority. Then we have to check the Kindergarten. Amethyst, bring Steven home and get him to bed. It's after midnight. Pearl and I will look around the city for Julianna."

"I can help!" Steven protested. "I'm not that tired..."

"You need your rest, Steven." Pearl insisted. "Tomorrow morning if we haven't found her, you can help us look, okay?"

"Alright.. Goodnight guys." He degenerated his shield and followed Amethyst toward the house.

* * *

After she was sure the Crystal Gems had gone, Peridot returned to her ship, plans racing through her head. She _had_ to talk to Julianna- but how? There was no way that the Crystal Gems would let her out- not without one of them hovering over the conversation. She'd made a mistake all those thousands of years ago, and she'd just now realized how bad it had truly been. And now, seeing her with them... She was even more determined to get her back.

She dug through the contents of the spaceship, green lips turning upward in a smirk as she found what she needed. An empty black bag; similar in shape to a potato sack; silver tape, and a length of thick rope. She set the items aside, pulling up her tablet and summoning two robonoids.

There was work to be done.


	20. Chapter Nineteen: The Tent

Julianna stood on the deck outside of the house, elbows propped on the edge. She stared blankly into the water, her thoughts racing, taking her back to the battlefield. The one she was _supposed_ to love had been right there beside her, yet she'd felt the same attachment upon seeing Peridot again. She'd forgotten all the wrongs done against her, and she ached to have her old life back. But nothing would ever be the same now that she'd gotten involved with the Crystal Gems. After all they'd done, she couldn't just turn her back on them.

" _Julianna_!" Amethyst ran up the stairs and hugged her tightly. "I was worried about you. Are you okay?"

Julianna ran her fingers affectionately through a strand of her lavender hair. "I'm fine, Amethyst. Don't worry about it."

Amethyst frowned slightly. "I don't like seeing you upset."

"I'll get over it." Her voice had gotten slightly colder, icing the edges of her soft tone.

Amethyst broke the embrace, and just stood beside her. "Are you going back to her?" She asked, her voice barely audible, but the fear was apparent. She wanted her to stay, but wouldn't enforce it. If she was happy with Peridot, why should she hold her back? After all, if you love something, it's best to set it free.

"I don't know, Amethyst..." She sighed heavily. "I don't wanna hurt you."

"Don't worry about me, Julianna. If Peridot makes you happier than I do, then be with her. It's okay. I won't hold you back, if that's what you really want."

"I don't know what I want... Other that not to hurt you."

"It'll be okay. Really. Just do what makes you happiest."

"Alright..." She whispered.

"And if you do leave, and you decide to come back.. I'm not going anywhere."

A torrent of fresh tears came crashing down.

* * *

Peridot furiously tapped away at her screen, trying to quickly finish her plans before the night ended. There was about three hours left before it would start to get lighter, and if that happened, it was all over.

She deactivated the summoned robonoids and pulled out their chips, attaching them to her tablet. She quickly redesigned them, trying to make them look somewhat human-like. She couldn't raise any suspicions; the plan was ride or die. With nimble fingers, she extracted the chips and returned them to the robonoids, watching them reboot and take on their new form. They were shaped the same way as humans, but with no gender characteristics. Their pupils were a bright green, nearly glowing in the dark of the crashed vehicle. Darker green etchings ran across their skin, barely visible in the lack of brightness. The numbers 2.0 and a letter were etched into the palms of their hands. One was a deep ink black, with the letter A, and the other metallic grey, labeled with B.

" _Perfect_." She smirked, making a mental note to upgrade the others soon. "Robonoid A, grab the materials." She ordered, her excitement growing as he followed her exact orders, picking up the bag, tape, and rope from the corner of the room. "Now, here's the plan."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Amethyst asked, looking up at Julianna. She truly hated to see her this way.

"I'm sorry.." She rubbed her eyes. "All I've done is cry on you."

"It's fine. You're going through a tough time." She gently ran her fingertips over the back of her hand to calm her. "It's understandable."

"That's still not a good excuse..." She argued.

"Don't worry about it, okay? Crying is just a natural byproduct of being sad. You can't help it."

"I need to talk to her.. Find out if what Garnet said is really true..."

"She'll only lie to you again. If she truly cared about you, she wouldn't have left you here for thousands of years."

"You're right. I need to get over this."

"Things take time." She moved her hand away from Julianna's. "I'm going to head in. You need a minute?"

"Yeah, if that's okay."

"Take your time. When you're ready, I'll be in my room." She winked suggestively towards her, waiting for a reaction.

"Shut up." She retorted, shoving her shoulder lightly. A hint of a smile played at the corners of her lips, a small attempt of a laugh coming from her throat. It wasn't quite the reaction she'd been aiming for, but it was something, at least.

"I'm just kidding."

Julianna scoffed. "Damn right you are." She affirmed, crossing her arms.

"Goodnight, Julianna." She walked back to her room, leaving her alone on the porch to process her thoughts.

* * *

Peridot crept through the shadows beside her Robonoids, the black bag in her hand. Robonoid A walked at her left with the tape in hand, Robonoid B at the right with the rope.

A gentle wind blew across the area, Julianna's hair fluttering in the wind, catching Peridot's attention.

All the lights in the house were turned off, masking their identities even further. "Alright, change of plans." Peridot whispered. "Storm the deck and grab her. Got it?" The robonoids nodded in response, and the plan burst into action.

Peridot folded the bag into a strap and snuck up the stairs, robonoids close in tow, creeping around Julianna. She threw the strap over her eyes, and she let out a piercing scream. Robonoid A ripped off a strip of tape and pressed it over her lips, her noises muffled by the blockage. He threw the roll aside and grabbed her arms, holding her in place as Robonoid B tied the rope around her wrists. He gripped her left bicep tightly, Robonoid B grasping the other arm. Peridot quickly unrolled the bag and threw it over her head, then ran to make her escape as the Robonoids lifted her into the air, carrying her down the beach.

* * *

Julianna thrashed and kicked her legs, desperate to escape her assailants. Her throat ached, screams barely passing through the tape, but she persisted, unwilling to give up. Someone would surely have heard her, and would come out... Wouldn't they?

" _JULIANNE_!" Amethyst shouted, running out the door to the house, scanning the perimeter, squinting in the darkness. A small container collided with her face and exploded, sending chemicals into the air around her. She blinked drowsily and collapsed, out cold.

* * *

The robonoids ran down the beach and into the white tent Peridot had pitched. They threw Julianna onto the sand, removing the bag from her head, mussing her hair. They cut the rope and tore the tape off her mouth, a weak, strangled cry escaping her lips. She looked up and gasped slightly, seeing Peridot clearly for the first time in thousands of years. She'd started to forget the little things- the piercing eyes, triangular hair, the shape of her legs... Everything she'd come to love had started to slip away from memory.

The green gem stared down at her. She had also started to forget- the sound of her voice, her gentle touches, submissive nature- everything she'd created her to be. She took in her change of outfit, noticing the figure clinging fabric of her shirt, wanting nothing more than to tear it off. But she kept herself in check for now.

Peridot reached out her hand to help her stand. "Relax, Julianna." A tremor ran through her body, the words sounding foreign on her tongue, not having said them in thousands of years. "I'm not going to hurt you. This was only supposed to be a diversion." She gripped her hand and lifted her up to her feet.

Julianna threw her arms around Peridot's neck, hugging her close to her body. "Peridot..." She sobbed. "I thought you'd abandoned me here.."

Peridot hesitated a moment, then awkwardly returned the embrace to keep up her act. Her stomach stirred at their closeness. "I-I found shards of your gem.. I thought that you were dead..."

"My gem got scraped.. And I got blasted here..."

"It's alright." She assured her, mentally smirking to herself. "I've got you now. I won't let anything hurt you anymore." Her plan had worked. She broke the embrace and wiped the tears from her eyes, letting a smirk come to her lips, scanning her up and down, taking in her figure. "What do you say we make up for lost time, hmm?" She purred in seduction, gently running her hand along her side, from her cheek to her waist, lingering.

Julianna shivered at her touch, slightly raising an eyebrow. "What are you suggesting?" She asked, pretending to play coy. But she knew _exactly_ what she wanted.

"I think you know what I'm talking about." Peridot turned to her Robonoids. "Leave us." She ordered. "Return to the spaceship."

They nodded compliantly and left the tent.

As soon as they were gone, their lips connected, neither of them wanting to waste anymore time. For a moment it was gentle and tender, and they revelled in the feeling of their embrace. It quickly became more heated, the thousands of years between them forgotten. All that existed was the two of them, and the pile of clothes on the floor.


	21. Chapter Twenty: Thinking of You

The sun had risen high in the sky, blessing the world with it's light. Pearl and Garnet walked down the beach, hand in hand, although their journey wasn't taken for romantic purposes.

"Peridot is definitely responsible." Garnet spoke.

Pearl thought for a moment. "I don't know. It doesn't matter. We just have to find Julianna before anything happens to her."

"If we're not too late already."

"You don't think she'd hurt her… Do you?"

"Not directly. But she's definitely done something to manipulate her." Garnet turned to walk towards the field, but Pearl stopped her.

"Garnet, there's something over there." She pointed to a white tent, pitched a few hundred yards down the beach. "We should go check it out."

"Humans go camping all the time, Pearl. I don't think she'd be in there."

"I still think we should check. It doesn't look like a normal human tent."

"If you think so, let's do it." They made their way towards it, keeping their voices low.

"I'll look in and check." Garnet volunteered. She pulled back the flap and peered inside. Julianna and Peridot laid together, with only a thin sheet over them. She closed the flap and backed away from the tent, turning back to Pearl.

"Are they in there?" Pearl asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. "They are."

"Is she okay?"

"It looks like it."

Pearl glanced inside the tent, her cheeks turning blue as she quickly stepped away. "What are we going to tell Amethyst? She'll be crushed..."

"We're not going to tell her. That's Julianna's responsibility. Besides, we don't know exactly what happened, only what we saw." They started to make their way back to the temple.

"Still.. She deserves to know.."

"And Julianna will tell her." Garnet concluded, then decided to change the subject. "You look cute when you blush."

This only made Pearl blush darker.

Garnet chuckled softly. "I love you." She kissed the top of her head tenderly, taking her hand in hers.

"I love you too." Pearl whispered, wrapping her fingers with Garnet's. A smile spread across her face, her eyes aglow. They walked together hand in hand, a comfortable silence between them. They felt a love beyond words, a beautiful emotion blossoming from the depths of their spirits, a growing attachment. Something that could never be replaced. A unique void only their love could fill, a passion that would last forever. Infidelity could not take them prey, their only desires for each other.

A soft rain began to fall from the sky, and Garnet pulled the white gem closer, shielding her from the droplets.

* * *

Julianna opened her eyes, gazing down at Peridot. Shivers ran down her spine as memories of what they'd done the night before came racing back to her. She stared blankly at the sleeping gem in thought, regret slamming her. After all Amethyst had done for her in her time with the Crystal Gems, she had gone and done this. She had committed a horrible offense, something unforgivable. She slowly stood and picked up her clothes, silently pulling them on. She stepped out of the tent, turning in the opposite direction of the temple and starting to run, the wind rushing against her face, not stopping until her legs could no longer carry her, ending up in one of Beach City's neighboring towns. She was determined to stay away until she had made her choice. She was done hurting them, and wouldn't get involved with either again until she'd figured out which one she truly loved.

Peridot had been all she'd ever known in her life. Her only friend, her only love, the only one she trusted.. But what if Garnet had been right? What if the only reason she was so attached to the green gem was not by her own choice, but rather by manipulation and indirect force?

Amethyst had been her shoulder to cry into for the past months, there for her when she was near death, while Peridot had sent her into a death trap.

" _But that was just an accident_..." She told herself, burying her head in her hands.

How could she possibly leave either one behind?

* * *

"Did you find her?" Amethyst asked, looking up at Pearl and Garnet hopefully. Her eyes shone with fear and pain.

"Peridot took her." Garnet responded quietly. "She hasn't hurt her. She'll come back on her own."

"Are you sure?" Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat.

"She's not hurt." Pearl answered. "We saw her."

"Did you talk to her?"

"No. She didn't see us." Garnet replied. "Everything will turn out okay, Amethyst. Don't worry about it, alright?"

She only nodded in response, walking off to her room. Solitude was all she needed until she came back.

And she'd wait as long as it would take.

Even if Julianna never returned.

* * *

Steven sat on the floor between the window and his bed, staring out at the rain. He hadn't seen Connie in nearly two days with all that had been going on, and he missed her. Without her around, there was nobody to talk to. The only people even close to his age were miles away, all off doing their own thing.

He picked up his phone and sent her a message.

" _Thinking of you."_

She responded with a smiley face. " _Me too._ "

" _Meet up later_?"

" _I'll stop by after practice._ "

" _Awesome. See you then._ "


	22. Chapter Twenty One: In Plain Sight

Garnet and Pearl laid together in the white gem's room, making sure to keep their voices low so they wouldn't wake the others. Garnet rested behind her, her arms wrapped protectively around her, their hands entwined at Pearl's abdomen. Their lips connected and broke apart in a series of short, gentle, heartfelt kisses, their love and passion for each other growing with each additional embrace.

"I think I'm ready to go public, Garnet." Pearl declared between kisses.

"We don't have to. I don't want you to feel rushed." Garnet reassured her. "But, if it's what you truly want-"

"It is." Pearl affirmed.

"It's settled then." A smile stretched across her lips, her gaze into Pearl's eyes deepening.

"I love you." The white gem whispered.

Her words were reciprocated with a final kiss.

* * *

Peridot sat up and rubbed her eyes, confused at the empty tent surrounding her. Where had Julianna gone? She quickly pulled on her clothes and wandered out, flinching as the sun stung her eyes. She made her way down the beach, storming across the sand. She suspected the Crystal Gems had had something to do with her disappearance, and she was determined to get her back.

"Give me back my girlfriend, you _Crystal Clods_!" She pounded on the door.

Steven came to answer it. "What are you talking about, Peridot?"

"Julianna was with me last night. And now she's gone. You had to have done something."

"She hasn't been here. Pearl and Garnet were just out looking for her."

She gave him a menacing look, then turned and left.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky, beating it's noon rays down upon the landscape. The city was at it's busiest, everyone rushing to get to where they needed to be. Cellphones, for once, were put away, the daylight creating screen glares no one wanted to put up with. Their attention was focused on something else, or rather, someone. They whispered and stared, fingers pointed in their direction.

" _Aw, they're so cute together!"_

 _"What's going on? Are they a couple?"_

 _"Ugh._ _ **Disgusting**_ _."_

Garnet and Pearl walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand, heads held high. The people's words just floated by, not a care in the world as they focused on their mission. They scanned the crowd for their runaway teammate, their searches holding no result. The outer boundaries of Beach City came into view as they continued on their way, still unaffected by their stares and whispered words.

"Are you okay, Pearl?" Garnet asked, waiting until they were out of earshot. She'd heard mostly negative comments from the people, each word raising her growing concerns for her lover.

"Yes, I'm fine.. How about you?" She looked up at her, ocean eyes shimmering in concern and worry.

"Don't worry about me, Pearl. I can handle it." She gently leaned down and kissed the top of her head, earning a few expressions of joy from the people.

Pearl smiled faintly, light blue blush tinting her cheeks. "I love you." She whispered, wrapping her arms around the taller gem's neck.

"I love you too." Garnet replied, curling her arms around her waist. Their embrace only lasted a moment, but it was warm and true nonetheless.

"We should go.." Pearl murmured, bringing her arms away from Garnet. She hated to break their touch, but there was a mission to complete.

"You're right." She paid no heed to the crowd as she pulled her arms away, taking her hand again. Together they headed towards the mountains, the isolation, high altitude and cool air a perfect hiding place for a runaway. A soft wind blew through the air, rustling their hair, slight goosebumps forming on the surface of their skin.

"Julianna!" Pearl shouted, her voice echoing across the area, bouncing back towards them. No response was heard, so she tried again. "Julianna!" Her outreach was met again with reverberating silence. She ceased her shouting, not trying again for several minutes, until they were further ways up the mountain. " _Julianna_!" She crossed the fingers of her free hand in hope.

A faint cry came echoing back, in a different voice. " _Go away!_ " It cried, desperation cutting at the edges of the sound. " _I'm not here!_ "

Slowly, they made their way up the mountain, which was more of a hill with its relatively low height.

"Julianna..." Garnet let go of Pearl's hand and carefully approached her. "It's okay. We just want to help you."

"No, don't. I don't deserve it." She looked down to the ground in shame, the wind blowing through the wisps of her hair, sprinkling the grass with her tears.

"Of course you do." Pearl assured her. "Peridot manipulated you. We wouldn't hold that against you." She kept her tone gentle and soft, not wanting to scare her off.

"I-I still agreed to.." Her voice floated away in a gust of wind.

"It's not your fault, Julianna." Garnet spoke. "Amethyst cares about you. Whatever you did, she'll forgive you."

"I slept with Peridot.." She confessed, her face heating up with shame.

"We know." Garnet responded. "It's alright. You can come back with us. Start over again. Forget Peridot completely. You deserve someone better than her."

Julianna stared at them for a moment, her heart pounding. She really did want to leave Peridot, but wasn't strong enough on her own.

"We won't let her hurt you anymore." Pearl stepped closer to her, looking into her eyes. "You're safe with us."

"Okay." She whispered, her voice faint, hoarse from the tears.

They began the journey to the temple.

* * *

Night had fallen on the horizon, all traces of the sun gone. Only a sliver of a moon and twinkling stars lit the world, their illumination hardly enough to suffice.

Julianna and Amethyst laid together in the purple gem's room, the pale light floating in through the open window, the curtains fluttering in the soft Cherylze.

"I'm sorry..." Julianna whispered.

"Don't be. It's alright." Amethyst affectionately ran her fingers gently through Julianna's hair, her crying eased into gentle hiccups. "Peridot can't hurt you anymore. I promise."

Her eyelashes fluttered, her breathing softening, diaphragm dully aching. Sleep enticed her, her pain floating away in her unconsciousness. Her cries were mostly gone, except for an occasional shaky breath, which eventually evened out and made it's leave, giving her much needed peace of mind.


	23. Chapter Twenty Two: Blood and Rocks

Citizens gathered outside the temple, bearing signs with hateful words. They shouted with enmity, their voices carrying loud and clear into the temple.

Garnet calmly drew the shades, blocking out the view of the rioters, darkening the house, only thin slits of light streaming in. There was no expression on the red gem's face, but she was deeply angered. After all the Crystal Gems had done for humanity, _this_ is how they were treated? And all because of who they loved? She held Pearl close to her, gently running her fingertips through her peach colored hair. "Don't listen to them, Pearl." She murmured.

"This is all my fault.." Pearl choked out.

"No." Garnet held her tighter, her lover's tears filling her heart with contrite. "None of this is your fault. Humans hate and fear what they don't understand. Don't let it get to you." She pushed apart a section of the blinds, watching the rioters turn and leave, finally giving up.

* * *

Connie and Steven exchanged worried glances, the sound of Pearl's crying filling the now quiet space.

"You okay?" Connie asked hesitantly, studying his face.

"Yeah... I just don't get it. Why would they say those kind of things?"

Connie shook her head. "Who knows? They're just hateful... I'm sorry, Steven. This must be hard for you, with them insulting your family..."

"I'm alright." He assured her. "It's just like Garnet said: they hate what they don't understand."

"What just happened?" Julianna whispered to Amethyst, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Pearl and Garnet came out to the public yesterday, and now people are rioting." Amethyst explained.

"Oh... That's not good." She glanced over in Garnet and Pearl's direction. "Is she going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine."

* * *

A week had passed, and the rioting had gotten worse. People had started throwing rocks at the windows, cracking the glass.

"Steven." Garnet ordered. "Go upstairs and pack a bag, then go and stay with your father. Take Connie with you. It's not safe for you here anymore."

A rock sailed through the window, and she caught it before it could hit him. "Go. Now."

Steven nodded and ran up the stairs, Connie not far behind him. He picked up his cheeseburger backpack and packed it with a few days worth of clothing. He zipped it shut and rushed back down, heading towards the back door.

"Wait." Garnet warned. "They could be out there too." She stuck her head out of the doorway. "Hurry, Steven. Don't be afraid to use your shield if need be. Protect Connie, okay? I don't want either of you getting hurt."

Steven nodded. "How long will it be?"

"I don't know." She answered truthfully. "I don't even know what we're going to do about these people. But we have to send you away so that you don't get hurt, and you could use some quality time with Greg anyways." She smiled warily, ruffling his hair. "Stay safe, okay?"

He nodded again. "We will. Come on, Connie." He summoned his shield, holding it loosely by his side and opening the door. He took her hand in his free hand, and lead her out of the house. They snuck around to the front, staying out of sight of the rioters. He stopped for a moment, watching as the people shouted hateful words at his family and defaced the only home he'd ever know, his eyes watering. He let go of Connie and set down his backpack, tightening the grip on his shield and storming up the stairs to the porch.

"What- Steven!" Connie exclaimed, running after him. "You'll get hurt!"

" **ENOUGH**!" He shouted. "Do you people have no **respect**?! The Crystal Gems have risked their lives countless times to save this planet, and **this** is how you repay them?! Who they love doesn't matter! Love is **beautiful,** and **patient,** and **kind**. Gender doesn't matter!" He thought for a moment, remembering what Amethyst had said during their card game all those weeks ago. "Hearts, not parts!"

His voice went unheard, the people's shouting drowning them out. He raised his shield to block an incoming rock. The projectile hit the shield's edge and knocked into Connie's head.

"Connie!" He pulled her close and used his shield to protect them as he ushered her down the stairs, sticking close as they ran a few meters down the coast, backpack scooped up along the way.

"I'm so sorry, I-"

"It's okay, Steven." Connie murmured. "It was an accident." She pulled her hand off the wounded area, her palm soaked red.

He gasped sharply. "Y-You're bleeding! We have to get you to the hospital!"

"No. Not the hospital. My mom is home.. And home is closer."

"I'll carry you." Before she could protest, he magicked away his shield and scooped her up bridal style, gently cradling her head with his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his neck.. He started to run in the direction of her house, breath getting heavier as he continued through the near-empty streets. He flinched at the wet spot on his shirt, running faster than before.

"Stay with me, Connie." He panted, the muscles in his legs aching.

"I'm fine, Steven. Really." She coughed slightly, looking up at him. "You can put me down now. It's only half a mile away."

"No. It's okay. I can make it." He smiled weakly in reassurance, continuing to run until they reached the doorstep of her apartment. He set her down and helped her steady, then pounded on the door. "Doctor Maheswaran! Come quick! Connie's hurt!"

The door flew open, and she gasped. " _ **Connie**_!" She quickly ushered them into the house. "Lay her down on the couch, Steven." She ran into the kitchen to get her first aid materials, tearing open a package of bandages and a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

"This might hurt a little bit, honey.." She murmured, wetting a cloth with the alcohol and gently pressing it on the wound.

Connie groaned softly in pain, wincing faintly. Steven took her hand for support, the guilt flowing from his eyes in the form of teardrops.

"Oh dear God..." Doctor Maheswaran murmured. "Honey.. I'm going to have to cut your hair..."

"It's alright." Connie rasped, fluttering her eyes open. "It'll be fine."

"I'm sorry, Connie..." Steven cried. "This is my fault... All of it."

Connie squeezed his hand in reassurance, her gaze meeting his before she weakly closed her eyes.

"Stay with me." He murmured, running his thumb over her knuckles gently.

"I'm here... The light just hurts my eyes."

"Can you sit up at all, Connie?" Her mother asked.

"I-I can try."

"I've got you." Steven gently lifted her into a sitting position. He watched as Doctor Maheswaran wielded her scissors. Her hands were steady, her lips quivering slightly in worry as she cut away the blood-dried strands, leaving a small section clipped close to the scalp. She then shaved away the area, leaving a spot with very little hair. She gently cleansed the wound again, biting down on her bottom lip. "It needs stitches..." She murmured, digging through her basket. She rubbed a salve over the wound to numb it, and quickly stitched it up. She took out a bottle of pills, then headed back to the kitchen, grabbing water bottles from the fridge. She handed one to Steven, and the other to Connie, along with a few pills. "Take these." She instructed, packing up her basket.

Steven thanked her quietly, helping Connie open the bottle.

"Thank you, Steven..." She smiled weakly. "Oh no, your shirt... It's ruined."

"Don't worry about it. All of my shirts look the same. If one goes missing, it won't matter."

Doctor Maheswaran returned to the living room. "Oh, Steven, your shirt's ruined."

"Don't worry about it, I've got more." He gestured to the backpack strewn by the door.

She nodded. "I can wash it later. For now, though, I'd like you to tell me what happened." She laid a blanket over Connie, gently pressing her lips to her forehead for a moment. She then sat beside Steven on the floor.

"People were gathered outside our house, shouting things and throwing rocks.. I went up to try and get them to stop, and Connie followed me. I tried to use my shield to block us from getting hit, but it just bounced off the edge and hit her.. I'm sorry, this is my fault.."

"Did you throw the rock?"

"No, but I don't know who did."

"It's not your fault then. Why were people throwing rocks at your house?"

"Because of Pearl and Garnet. They're together, and people don't like that."

"Listen, Steven. I know that you and Connie are good friends, but I don't want her at your house until the danger to her safety has been eliminated." She glanced at her worriedly for a moment, then to Steven. "It's late. You should go. If you leave the shirt here, I'll get the blood stains out of it for you."

He nodded solemnly and stood up, picking up his backpack and pulling out another shirt. He quickly switched them, and handed Doctor Maheswaran the soiled shirt.

"Thank you for your help, Steven."

"Anytime." He slung the bag over his shoulder and opened the door. "Goodnight, Doctor Maheswaran." He made his way to the car wash, his mind a blurry haze. He was tired, and stressed out, the multiple riots leaving him unable to sleep peacefully.

"Hey, Steven." Greg called out. "What're you doing out here so late?"

"Pearl and Garnet are in a relationship, and people don't like that, so they've started crowding the house, screaming and throwing rocks. The gems sent me away to keep me safe."

He nodded. "It's too late to do anything for tonight, but tomorrow night, I'll book us a motel for a couple of days. Come on. I've got blankets in the van."


	24. Chapter Twenty Three: There She Goes

Finally able to enjoy a moment alone outside, Pearl and Garnet stood on the porch, locked in a gentle embrace. They stared deeply into each other's eyes, worry from the days past hanging in the air. Pearl's eyes were full of tears. She loved Garnet completely, but she still couldn't help but wonder if the people were right.

"You have such beautiful eyes." Garnet murmured, lightly rolling a strand of her hair between her fingertips. She took note of her expression, sighing softly, the corners of her lips turning downward. "You're not telling me something... What's wrong, love?"

"Garnet..." Pearl choked. "Maybe we shouldn't be together... M-Maybe all the people are right..." Tears began to stream down her face, and she looked away from the red gem's gaze.

Garnet gently kissed her tears away. "I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too.. I just-"

Garnet didn't let her finish. "Pearl... In all my thousands of years, I have never found another as lovely as you. Even though we're both the same, and society may frown upon us, my love for you will never fade. That's a promise I intend to keep."

Pearl hugged her tightly, crying into the crook of Garnet's shoulder, feeling terrible for even thinking of leaving Garnet . "I'm sorry..."

"It's alright." Garnet murmured. "I understand."

-The Next Day-

Yet another riot had taken place, this time even more violent than the previous.

And the Crystal Gems had had enough.

Julianna stormed out onto the porch, and the people slowly quieted down.

"You all need to stop this! If it weren't for Pearl and Garnet, non-Earthly forces would have destroyed your planet thousands of years ago! And this is how you repay them?! By attacking them over who they love?! You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" She went back inside, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Thank you, Julianna." Garnet said, glancing out the window. "You got them to leave. Hopefully they won't come back."

She nodded solemnly. "Yeah.. Hopefully."

Amethyst wrapped her arms around her. "That was awesome, Julianna."

Julianna blushed and returned her embrace. "Thanks, Amethyst."

"Yeah, no problem. You sure did tell them good."

She creased her eyebrows. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No, of course not. It's a good thing."

A new dawn had risen, the events of the past day forgotten. It still was not safe to bring Steven home, no one having any idea if the rioters would return or not.

"What the hell are they doing?" Garnet mused, leaning against the way. She didn't dare to go out, in fear of losing her temper to their violence.

"They-They're leaving roses on the steps..." Julianna observed, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Does this mean it's finally over?"

"I don't think so. Everyone stays inside until midnight," Garnet advised. "Then we'll go and check it out."

-Midnight-

Garnet made her way down the stairs, followed by Pearl, Amethyst, and Julianna. Roses and scraps of paper littered the pathway.

"What is all of this?" Julianna questioned, picking up a scrap of paper. "I'm sorry." It read. Eyebrows scrunched, she picked up another one, each of them saying the same thing. The roses, although bent in the stem, were still fresh, not yet having started to deteriorate.

"I think we can bring Steven home."

-A Few Days Later-

"Connie, you can't see him anymore."

"What?!" Connie's eyes widened, filling with tears. "Mom, please-"

"It's not safe for you there. It's not negotiable." Doctor Maheswaran left the room, silently closing the door behind her. She hated to do this, but her daughter's safety came first.

Connie pulled her knees to her chest, rested her forehead on them. The wound on her head throbbed and ached, but she didn't care. She let her tears flow freely, an aching void in her chest. The pain quickly melted into anger, and she stood up off her her bed and picked up her backpack. She unzipped it, stashing her folders and textbooks into the drawer of her bedside table. She dug through her closet, only taking out the most warm and durable clothes, stuffing them into the backpack. She also picked up her wallet off the table and poured it's contents onto the bed. A pile of wadded up bills, loose change and forgotten sticks of gum collected on her blanket, and she dug through it, uncrinkling the papers and counting the coins. Only thirty dollars. She crammed it all back into the wallet and put it in her backpack, stashing the bag underneath her bed. For hours she stared at the clock, watching aimlessly as the seconds ticked by, impatiently waiting for midnight.

At last, the sky had fully darkened. Connie pulled out her backpack and slid on her coat, quietly opening the window and slipping out, landing on the bushes. She silently walked towards Steven's house, making sure to stay in the shadows. She heard footsteps and panicked, ducking into a nearby alley. She backed into the far corner, hoping that nobody would see her. There she hid until the sun rose, then she quickly made her way out, running towards Steven's house. She ran up the porch steps and knocked on the door, praying that he'd be awake.

"Connie!" Steven came out onto the deck, staring at her in disbelief.

"Steven!" She exclaimed, her breathing short and heavy, hardly enough to let the words form. "I- I-"

"Whoa. Calm down. Take a minute to breathe."

She stood there for a moment, chest heaving, then she burst. "My mom says I can't see you anymore!" Tears rushed down from her eyes, her face buried in her hands.

"Connie..." Steven gently rested his hand on her shoulder. "I know."

"I'm running away."

"What?! Connie, it's not safe-"

"I don't care! I just wanted to be happy, and she took that away from me! So I'm leaving."

"Where are you going? Please, you have to tell me!" Steven pleaded.

"I don't know! I'm just going to get on a bus in the next town, and go as far as it'll take me!"

"Let me come with you! I can-"

"No, Steven. The Crystal Gems are under enough pressure already, no need to add any more. You have to stay and protect Beach City.

"But the people-"

"They might have rioted, but humanity is still in danger. You need to look past the rioting, and see the good in their hearts. You are half human after all... You can't betray them."

"Right..." He looked down at the boards of the porch in shame.

"I'll come back someday, alright? I won't be gone forever."

"Are you sure you can't possibly find another way?"

"No, Steven. I can't tell you where I'm going either. It's too much of a risk."

"Alright..." He whispered, accepting his fate. "Stay safe, okay?"

She nodded, gently pressing her lips to his. "I love you, Steven." She whispered, then turned and ran off down the stairs.

"I love you too." He watched her leave, stomach twisting with worry.


	25. Chapter Twenty Four: The Dark of Night

He stood there for hours, staring at the distant, empty space where her retreating form had once been.

"Why couldn't I make her stay?" He murmured to himself, grief eating away at him inside. Connie was in danger, and it was all his fault for letting her go alone. "I should have gone with her…"

"Steven?" Pearl stepped out onto the porch. "Is everything alright? You've been out here for hours…"

"Connie's gone."

"What do you mean by ' _gone_ '?"

"She ran away, a-and it's all my fault.."

"It's not your fault, Steven.."

"Yes it is! If I had protected her better, she wouldn't have gotten hit with that rock, and her mom wouldn't have said I couldn't see her, and she'd still be here…"

"We'll bring you your friend back.. Don't blame yourself, okay? None of this is your fault."

Peridot paced up and down the length of the kindergarten base, her mind racing. Julianna was gone somewhere, and even worse, she was stranded on this miserable planet _alone_. The only ones there to keep her accompanied were her upgraded robonoids, and they weren't advanced enough yet to do anything besides follow orders... Not that she even had any to give. Her thoughts wandered to her mission- observe the Kindergarten, record logs on her findings, and return to Homeworld. The Kindergarten was entirely dormant, thanks to Rose Quartz, and their plans were entirely ruined.

" _Who's to say I can't just make_ _ **new**_ _plans_?"

Peridot summoned her robonoids.

Connie walked along the side of the road, bus ticket in her hand. She'd stayed true to her word, and was on her way to the farthest city she could get to on a bus, a busy town about twenty miles from Beach City. Her hair hung loosely around her face, masking the tears that rolled down her cheeks. Flashbacks raced through her mind, the pained expression on Steven's face when she'd left branded in her memory. She knew that she'd hurt Steven, although she hadn't meant to, and the thought broke her heart. Her glasses were tucked away inside of her backpack, lenses punched out. Although she didn't need them, she still kept them, for the sake of memories, in case she never saw Steven again. Her only plan was to get away from Beach City, everything after was left to fate. The void in her heart grew larger as she boarded the bus, avoiding the people's gazes as she took a seat in the very back. Her head remained bent down, her hair masking her from view. She allowed herself one last look as the bus began to roll away, the torrents of tears increasing. She bit down on her quivering lip, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. It took nearly all her willpower to keep silent, in order not to draw attention to herself.

The bus reached its final stop, and Connie exited, thanking him quietly as she made her way off. Night had fallen, the street lights dim glow illuminating her pathway as she walked down the sidewalk. The usually bustling streets were barren, the only exception being herself and a few people making their way home. She went unnoticed, easily mistaken for an adult in the low lighting.

Garnet slowly stood up, making sure Pearl was still asleep before slipping out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her. The house was dark, dim moonlight pouring through the windows the only light. She stepped onto the warp pad and activated it, a soft glow and quiet warble filling the house. She arrived at the entrance of the Gem Monster's cave and warily stepped inside. Just because they had previously defeated it didn't mean that it wouldn't still be there, so she had to be extra cautious.

The walls were littered with various gems of all shapes and sizes, glittering in the dim light that leaked in from the mouth of the cave. Garnet marveled at the sight. Back home, it would have been a frightening sight, but these gems were created by the Earth's natural processes, making them entirely different. she carefully pulled a loose gem from the wall, rolling it between her fingertips. The surfaces were smooth and delicate, almost unnatural in form, like it'd been shaped, and then placed into the rock. She slipped the stone in her pocket and continued her search.

"Where have you been?!" Pearl exclaimed, running to Garnet and hugging her tightly.

"I had a solo mission." Garnet explained, returning her lover's embrace. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. You just left so suddenly.. I thought something had happened to you."

"I wouldn't let anything keep me away from you, Pearl. You don't have to worry about me, okay?"

"I can't help it…" Pearl laid her head on Garnet's shoulder. "I love you too much to not worry."

"I love you too. I'll always come back, okay?" She planted a soft kiss on her white lips, staring down into her eyes. "I promise."

Pearl nodded, pale blue coloring her face. She reconnected their embrace, gently running her hands through Garnet's hair. Her insides tingled, flooded with relief that her lover had returned safely. Although her worries were entirely irrational, and she knew this full well, she simply couldn't help it. Without Garnet, she would be lost, and even the thought of losing her was terrifying, sending a falling sensation through her body.

But she was here, and she was safe and in her arms.

Her anxieties floated away.


	26. Chapter Twenty Five: Far Away

The gem closely watched her control pad, observing the blue planet from afar. The cluster still laid dormant in it's Earthen core, slowly forming and developing, as was normal. She had began to grow tired of her tedious job, monitoring the stupid little planet, and she'd been aching for a battle. But, she said nothing of it, desires masked by her stone expression. In boredom, she glanced out the window. All that was there was a black sky, with the same stupid little stars that she'd already memorized the pattern of.

The blue section of the Diamond Emblem glowed on her shirt, attracting her attention. She internally sighed. It was likely another damned report, just like every other time her communicator glowed.

She activated it with her voice, and waited for her commander to speak.

"Has the cluster changed since the previous log-date?" Blue Diamond's voice came through her device, staticy from the poor connection in the damned cluster observatory.

"No, Blue Diamond. Nothing has changed." She kept her voice monotone, despite the fact that she was extremely bored, and equally pissed off.

"We're sending you on a mission. Deactivate your observatory and return to base." The room silenced, the transmission ending.

" _Thank goddess._ " She muttered to herself, sighing and running a hand through her dark green locks, which curved up and outwards from her head, similar in shape to that of a cluster of gems. The strands slightly mussed, but it was hardly noticeable. She reset the course and then shut down her pod, the air beginning to chill, as there was no heat coming from the machines any longer. She ran her hands up and down her olive colored arms in attempt to keep herself warm.

"Oh, _fuck it_." She grumbled bitterly. "It's not worth it." She crossed her arms over her stomach and let the pod take her to base.

"Your mission will be on Earth." Blue Diamond announced. "A Peridot has already been sent to reactivate the Kindergarten, but all she's done so far is screw around. Quite literally." She rolled her eyes. "Your job, is to take over her mission. Pretend to ally with her, then eliminate her."

The gem suddenly felt uneasy. She had no problem taking over the mission, and maybe even possibly wounding the Peridot in the process.

But _killing_ her?

Well, that was different.

"I want her gem back in pieces." Blue Diamond concluded. "You will leave at dawn."

As wrong as the mission felt, she had no option to defy her leader.

"Yes, Blue Diamond."

Peridot fumbled with the controls in the Kindergarten. They were severely outdated, and difficult to use. She groaned in frustration, punching the dashboard. She stormed out of the control room, giving up on the controls for now. She proceeded to dismantle the drills, just for the sake of productivity. If she could figure out how they worked, she could possibly reactivate them.

She let out a stream of curses as a drill broke to pieces in her hands. "SHIT! NO!" She kicked the broken drill in anger, screaming wordlessly as it became further damaged.

"Well, there goes my mission..." She grumbled bitterly.

"We should go on a date." Amethyst suggested.

"Okay." Julianna agreed. "Where to?"

"I don't know. Just somewhere. Where there's nobody else around."

"That could be anywhere. It's like, four o' clock in the morning, Amethyst."

"So? That doesn't matter. Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know what's around here. And besides, we don't have to _go_ anywhere."

"Pearl and Garnet can probably hear us in here, so we should at least go outside."

Julianna nodded. "Alright. That'll work." She stood up and headed for the door, Amethyst following behind her.

The water gently lapped across the sand, waves faintly glittering in the pale moonlight. Thin streaks of violet were painted over the horizon, signaling the sun's soon return. The air was cold, but the two stayed together, the joining of their hands and the closeness of their bodies blocking out the chill.

"Have you ever been in a relationship before?" Julianna questioned, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah," Amethyst admitted shyly, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "A really long time ago."

She nodded. "How does that work?"

"How does what work?" Amethyst tilted her head slightly, confused.

Julianna sighed softly. "A relationship..."

"It's different for everybody, but it's built on trust.. And love." She wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "And I love you."

"I love you too..." She whispered, resting her face against the crook of her shoulder.

"Please don't cry.." She murmured, running her fingers through her hair delicately.

"I won't. I've done too much of that already.." She stared up into Amethyst's eyes, a warm sensation coursing through her. Her walls began to fall apart, anything she felt for Peridot dissipating into nothing as she drew closer to Amethyst.

Amethyst leaned down to kiss her, but stopped abruptly, letting Julianna make her move first.

She panicked, and turned her head downward, her hair brushing against Amethyst's lips.

"It's okay." Amethyst whispered, gently placing her hand beneath her chin, tilting her head upward.

Heart pounding, Julianna pressed her lips against hers gently, cautiously leaning against her and winding her fingers through the strands of her lavender hair. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around her neck, still with her hands in her hair. Her stomach fluttered, lungs slowly beginning to ache from lack of air, but she still held onto the embrace. Amethyst's lips were warm and soft, and so was the rest of her, and she never wanted to let go. Something awakened deep inside her, a longing she'd never known with Peridot, and then she realized it.

 _She loved her._

She eventually pulled away from the embrace, the burning in her lungs too strong to bear any longer.

"Wow.." Amethyst murmured, chest heaving. "That was.. Wow."

Julianna laughed softly, chest still burning from lack of air. Her cheeks flushed slightly.

"You're pretty when you blush.." Amethyst murmured.

This only made her blush darker, causing Amethyst to laugh.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Amethyst." She leaned in to kiss her again.


	27. Chapter Twenty Six:DiscoveryDestruction

"Have you learned to summon your weapon yet, Julianna?" Amethyst questioned.

"No... But I think I'm getting close."

"Try again." She encouraged. "Just close your eyes and focus."

"If I knew what I'm supposed to be bringing out, it would be easier.." She muttered.

"After the first time, things get easier. Trust me. Now, try it again."

Julianna took a deep breath, then closed her eyes. " _Bring me my weapon_.." A large throwing star appeared in her hand, and she gasped loudly, eyes snapping open. "Amethyst! It worked!" She exclaimed, examining the object in her hand. The weapon was made of pink diamond, the same material as her gem. It was shaped like a star, with little geometric diamond shapes on each of the five points.

"Try and throw it." Amethyst suggested. "Aim for that target over there."

Julianna nodded and turned to her left, throwing the star like a frisbee. It hit the target dead in it's center, then fell to the ground, broken into five smaller pieces, each appearing the same as the larger one had. She strode over to the target and picked them up, scrutinizing them carefully. The pieces fused together and recreated the large weapon that had first appeared, much to her teammate's amazement, especially Pearl.

"That's remarkable!" Pearl exclaimed, enamored. "How did you do that?!"

"I'm not sure.." Julianna admitted bashfully, examining the weapon once again. It was quite large, only slightly smaller than Steven's shield.

"May I see it?" Pearl requested.

She nodded absently and handed her the throwing star, laughing softly as Pearl nearly shrieked in delight. "I've never seen a weapon like this before." She mused. "I'm not sure I can train you to use it properly."

"She hit the target dead on." Amethyst praised. "I don't think she needs it, Pearl."

Julianna's cheeks flushed. "I could probably use a little practice..."

"I'll help her out. Don't worry." Amethyst draped her arm around her shoulders. "I would be a bad girlfriend if I didn't."

"You guys are official now?" Pearl questioned, a smile spreading across her face.

"Um..." Julianna looked at Amethyst nervously.

"Not really." Amethyst chuckled awkwardly. "But, there's no time like the present. Julianna, will you be my girlfriend?"

Julianna nodded, laughing softly. "Of course, Amethyst."

Amethyst hugged her tightly and lifted her up, spinning her around, throwing stars falling from her hands.

Julianna shrieked and clung to the shorter gem's arms. "Whoa! Amethyst, put me down!" She laughed at her shenanigans, screaming again when Amethyst lost her footing and stumbled to the ground, bringing the blonde down on top of her.

"These kinds of things aren't usually done in front of other people, you rascal." She teased suggestively, climbing up off of her and helping her up, breaking into another fit of laughter.

Connie stood on the corner as people rushed past her in all directions. She had managed to pick up a job, working in a small motel on the far end of the town she'd run away to. It wasn't the greatest job, but she received a meager pay, and a place to sleep, so she didn't complain. It was often very lonely for her, with no one to socialize with, and no way to contact anyone she'd left behind.

The traffic light switched colors, and she quickly crossed the street, holding her plastic bag close to her. Politely, she nodded to the receptionist as she made her way inside the motel and to her assigned room. It was empty, except for her small backpack by the door, and a book on the bedside table. She pulled out the picture frame she'd bought at a dollar store down the street, and propped it up on the table beside the book. She removed her phone from her pocket and set it on the table as well, then sat down on the bed. From the bag she took out a single photo, still warm from being printed off. It was one of her and Steven, taken a few days before the riots had taken place. Carefully, she tucked it into the frame, and set it back down on the table, willing herself not to cry. Crying wouldn't do her any good.

Her phone buzzed on the table, stealing her from her thoughts. It was her parents, again, and she ignored it, as always, with a slight roll of her eyes. It had been their fault that she had left, and she certainly wouldn't give them any way to manipulate her into coming home. She had started her life over, and that was all that mattered. Now that she had her picture of her and Steven, she didn't need the stupid device any longer. In desperate attempts to silence the device, she removed it from it's casing and hurled it against the wall with all her might. The outer frame, buttons and small screen shattered to pieces, the inner mechanics still intact.

"Connie!" A warbled voice came through the device's shattered speaker, and she faintly recognized it as her mother. She was distraught, but Connie didn't care. The speaker shorted out momentarily, masking her mother's voice.

"You can-"

"Steven-"

"Please-"

The voice coming through the speaker sounded more desperate than before. "Come home!"

Without making a sound, Connie slammed her foot down on the phone, silencing it permanently. She unceremoniously scooped up the shards and disposed of it, relieved to finally be ridden of her last connections to home.

Well, at least, _one_ of the last.

She still had her memories, and her photograph of Steven. As many times as she told herself not to, and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't let him go, as she had with everything else.

She glanced up at the clock, then stood up off her bed, locking the door behind her as she left her room. She changed into her apron and started her shift in the small restaurant inside the motel, the hours spent hustling around and waiting on customers a welcome change in state of mind. If she was busy, she didn't think of Steven.

And if she didn't think of Steven, she didn't hurt.


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven: Kind Gestures

"Now that you can summon your weapon, we should work on some hand to hand stuff, in case you don't have your weapon, or can't get it." Amethyst began. "You wanna aim for the head, or between the legs. Those are the _really_ sensitive spots." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, making Julianna chuckle.

"Definitely." She agreed.

"A kick to the abdomen is really effective too. You could probably manage that, with your height advantage." She studied her for a moment, then nodded. "Try it on the Holo-Pearl."

"Do you wish to engage in combat?" The hologram warbled, wielding a sword.

Juliannie ran and charged at the hologram, taking it off guard and kicking it in the abdomen. She swiftly landed as it stumbled backwards, landing on the ground on it's back.

"Challenger wins!" The hologram screamed, disappearing into a poof of air.

"That was awesome! How come you've never stood up to Peridot? With those moves, you could've destroyed her!"

"I loved her." She said flatly, agitation edging her voice. "And besides, I didn't know she was manipulating me until I learned it from Garnet."

"Right... Sorry. I didn't think-"

"Do you ever?" She blurted.

"What?" She stammered, more out of shock than anything else.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said that.." Her voice cracked. "I'm too damn sensitive for my own good."

"It's okay. I shouldn't have brought it up."

Julianna shook her head. "It's fine. I don't care about Peridot anymore. Only you." She went back to fighting the holographic Pearl, ending the discussion. She easily defeated it multiple times. As a Diamond, she was a strong fighter, even more so now that she'd been trained.

Connie dragged the rag across the table in repeated circular motions, mind absent as she cleaned the crumbs off the bar counter in the center of the diner. She was almost done working for the day, unbeknownst to her. She would often work over her shift and not even realize it, her state of mind focused only on the work.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around, looking up at the taller woman behind her.

"Twenty minutes until your shift ends, Connie." She smiled knowingly, removing her hand. "We can't pay you anymore overtime this week, kiddo."

"That's fine." Connie murmured in response. "Thanks, Cheryl."

She nodded. "Yeah, no trouble... Are you alright?" She studied the dark skinned girl in concern.

"What do you mean?" She questioned.

"You seem.. Out of it." Cheryl observed.

Connie shrugged lightly. "I guess I just get distracted... I won't let it happen anymore."

"Don't worry about it. Things are likely rough for you right now. Most kids like you that come 'round here, well, they don't make it very long before they head back for home." She shook her head, a small smile on her face. "God, you look beat... Let me buy you a drink."

Connie looked at her incredulously. "I don't drink..." She answered hesitantly.

"No, no!" Cheryl exclaimed. "Not like that, Connie." She laughed awkwardly. "That's not at all what I meant. I'm sorry."

"That's alright. Thank you for the offer, though." She turned to go back to her work, but Cheryl stopped her.

"At least let me get you some dinner." She insisted. "You look like you could use a pick-me-up."

Connie flinched at her words, Steven's voice ringing through her head. He had used that phrase often enough that hearing it made her think of him.

"Are you sure you're alright, kiddo?"

She shook it off. "Yes ma'am. I'm perfectly fine." She lied. As much as she hated to lie, especially to her boss, who had shown her so much generosity over the past week, it was necessary.

- **Flashback** -

Rain poured down in thick, frigid sheets as Connie huddled underneath a park bench. It had been her second night since leaving home, and the tears still hadn't stopped. Her head ached from exhaustion and dehydration, but she'd carelessly left her water bottle on the bus, and there was no telling where it had ended up, and now she was without water.

Someone gently shook her, and her eyes opened. She was confused and disoriented, not remembering having fallen asleep.

"You'll freeze to death if you stay out here." The woman murmured. "Come with me." Her dark hair, much similar in color to Connie's, hung in wet strings around her contrasting pale face, her clothing thoroughly soaked. "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you." She offered out her hand, which Connie unsteadily grasped. "There we go. Easy does it." She helped her stand and lifted the backpack off her shoulders, slinging it over her own. She held an umbrella over her shivering body, easing her along down the block, and into the motel.

She quickly unlocked the door to the motel room and ushered her in, cranking up the thermostat. She set her bag down by the door and hung up the umbrella. She dug through the closet and pulled out a grey hoodie and a pair of dark leggings, similar to what she wore now.

"The shower is in there." She said, motioning towards the restaurant. "If you want, I can run your clothes through the dryer, but you can have these for now. They might not fit too well, though."

"Th-Thank you.." Connie stammered, blue lips trembling.

"Get in there and warm yourself up." She ordered gently, setting the bundle of clothing in her arms. "I'll be out here when you finish up."

Connie exited the shower and quickly threw on the clothes, grateful for the warmth she'd missed for so long. She had been right, the clothes were slightly too large, but she didn't care. They were infinitely better than her previous adornments. Her eyelids were heavy with exhaustion, but she still walked out into the other room, fighting to stay awake.

"There you are. My name is Cheryl." She greeted her kindly, a thin smile across her lips. She was careful to be gentle with her, not wanting to frighten her.

"I'm Connie.." She said softly, her eyes not meeting her gaze.

"It's nice to meet you, Connie." Cheryl led her to the pullout couch, set up with blankets and pillows. "I set this up for you. Hopefully it'll be good enough."

"It's perfect. Thank you."

Cheryl nodded. "You look exhausted, you poor thing. Get some rest. We can talk more in the morning."

Connie gratefully crawled under the soft blankets, asleep before her head even touched the pillows.


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight: A New Life

Cheryl sat in the armchair in the corner of the room, watching the girl sleep. She'd been there for nearly twelve hours, and had hardly even stirred, but she didn't mind. She'd been trying to read, but couldn't focus, all her attention spent on Connie. It was quite rare to find anyone like her around the area; most runaways she'd encountered had panicked and ran away on first glance, and she was grateful Connie hadn't been like that.

Connie slowly sat up, blinking her vision into focus. She took in the surroundings of the unfamiliar room, the memories slowly coming back to her. She glanced over in Cheryl's direction, slightly surprised that she'd been watching her.

Cheryl smiled warmly. "I see you've slept well."

Connie nodded. "Thank you again for letting me stay the night, miss."

"Call me Cheryl." She insisted. "And it's no trouble at all. You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like."

"The authorities are probably looking for me." She admitted, looking away from the other woman in shame.

"Have you committed a crime?" Cheryl asked calmly.

"No. I ran away from home."

"Then you can stay here with me for awhile. I really wouldn't mind it."

"I really shouldn't... Wouldn't you get in trouble with the law if they found me here?"

"I shouldn't think so... Where did you come from?"

"Beach City."

"That's about an hour away... I don't think the word would reach here. But, just in case, we should probably cut your hair. Just as an extra caution."

She nodded her head in agreement.

- **Present Day** -

"Connie?" Cheryl asked. "You're spacing out again..."

"I'm sorry.." Connie looked down at the floor. "I don't mean to."

"We need to have a talk." She said gently. "I have to stay late tonight, so we can talk over hot chocolate once your shift is over." She checked her watch. "Which is in five minutes. Alright?"

"Yes, ma'am." Connie nodded and quickly finished mopping the floor, then put her supplies away and came back out to the counter.

"Go ahead and pick a spot. I'll be there in a few minutes." Cheryl turned away and strode back into the kitchen, leaving Connie alone in the empty diner.

Sighing faintly, she chose a seat by the window, watching blankly as the rain fell. She allowed her mind to wander, wondering what Steven was up to. It was nearing nine o' clock, so he was probably reading, or asleep. A fresh wave of pain hit her as she remembered the time she'd spent with him in Rose's room, reenacting scenes from their favorite stories, and creating memories. Lost in thought, she was numb to the tears sliding down her cheeks, and hardly noticed as Cheryl took her seat across from her.

"What's the matter, Connie?" Cheryl gently rested her hand on Connie's wrist, and looked her in the eye.

"I miss him..." Connie whispered, averting her gaze away from Cheryl.

"Who?"

"Steven..." She choked, struggling to maintain her composure. "He was my only friend, and now I'm not allowed to see him. So I left home."

Cheryl nodded in understanding. "Did you tell him that you were running away?"

She nodded. "I did... He was the last person I talked to before I left."

"What did you say to him?"

"I told him that my mom said I couldn't see him anymore, and that I was running away."

"Anything else?"

"I kissed him."

Cheryl raised her eyebrows. "He must be a pretty special friend, then."

Connie nodded sorrowfully. "He was my only friend. When I was younger, we moved around a lot, and I never really made any friends before I met Steven... He was pretty much all that I had."

"Why didn't your mother want you seeing him?"

"It's complicated... His sister and her girlfriend came out publicly, and there were riots, and somebody threw a rock at my head, and then she said I couldn't see him, even though she knew how happy he made me."

Cheryl nodded in understanding. "Does talking about it help, Connie?"

"A little bit... It still hurts, though.." She confessed.

"Eventually, you'll move on." She said. "You might not necessarily stop loving him, but it'll start to not hurt quite as much as time goes on."

"How long will it take?"

"That, I can't answer. Each and every heartbreak is different, and so is each and every person. Sometimes it happens in a day, other times a month."

Connie nodded. "I see." She looked down, avoiding her gaze.

She smiled reassuringly and stood up. "I've gotta close up. It was nice talking to you." She took both of the empty cups and carried them off with her.

After watching her leave, Connie stood up, grabbing a napkin and wiping up the rings the cups had left on the table, throwing it away on her way out the door. She unlocked the door and stepped inside, her mind fuzzy with thoughts.

Could Cheryl really be right?

Peridot watched her upgraded Robonoids as they disassembled the old control panels and busted down the ancient walls, opening the hidden room and widening the space. The cave-like room was dark, but the machinery that would be added in shortly would help to illuminate it. It was large enough to fit all the necessary equipment, as well as a handful of people, but still small enough that nothing could slip past her gaze, which would be useful.

The control room was still unreachable from the ground, which would protect it from invaders, but it was visible from the air if you were close enough, which posed a small risk.

But, if she were to be invaded, she would be ready to take them down.

The robonoids carried in the new computers and set them up as Peridot commanded, and upon it's completion, it looked similar to a pod; exit to the left, controls in the front, and storage space in the back.

Now all that was left to do was plan.


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine: Gentle Embraces

"What are we going to do about Steven, Garnet?" Pearl asked worriedly. "He's hardly left his room in days.."

"He'll be fine, Pearl." Garnet assured her. "This is just a phase. He misses Connie, and that's how he chooses to grieve."

"So you're just going to leave him alone?!" She exclaimed, exasperated.

"Yes." Garnet answered calmly.

"What- We can't! We have to do something-"

"No, we don't. Steven is **grieving** , Pearl. If being alone is what helps him, then let him be."

"We **have** to talk to him, Garnet! We can't just let this continue on forever!"

"You should understand better than anyone, Pearl. You shut yourself away after Rose left-"

" **Don't** bring up Rose, Garnet, please." Her eyes shone with tears, and she avoided the red gem's gaze.

"You need to let Steven grieve. Don't make me make it an order."

Pearl nodded. "I suppose you're right… I just worry about him.."

Garnet wrapped her arms around her waist. "I understand, Pearl. Steven will be okay, it just might take some time."

Pearl rested her head on the crook of Garnet's neck. "Maybe we should look for her."

Garnet nodded. "I'll talk to her parents, and see if they know anything."

"I'm sorry I shouted at you…"

"It's okay. I shouldn't have brought up Rose, either."

"You were right, Garnet."

"It doesn't matter. I still shouldn't have mentioned her. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it."

Garnet pulled her closer to her. "I love you." She whispered into her hair.

"I love you too." She reached up, gently pressing her lips against Garnet's. She ran her fingers through her hair delicately, blushing as Garnet did the same to her. She revelled in the feeling of her soft lips, insides stirring with passion. Sparks coursed through her soul, making her heart beat faster.

They broke apart a moment later, not saying a word as they stared into each other's eyes.

"Just keep at it, Julianna. You'll get there." Amethyst encouraged, watching as Julianna tried to hit the targets with her throwing stars.

Julianna sighed in defeat. "Maybe I'm not cut out for this.."

"You're a diamond. You're built for this kind of stuff."

"Maybe the other diamonds are. But I wasn't." She answered bitterly.

"Even so. Fighting is in your blood. You just have to channel it. These kinds of things take time." She rested her hand on her shoulder.

Julianna sighed and looked down. "I know…"

"I have faith in you, Julianna." Amethyst pulled her into a hug, whispering into her hair. "I love you."

"I love you more." Julianna responded, a light blush coloring her face.

"Is that a challenge?" The purple gem raised her eyebrows, lips spreading in a playful smirk.

"Maybe it is."

"Well in that case.." She turned Julianna around so she faced her. "Challenge accepted." She pressed her lips against hers, resting her hands on her waist. She pulled her closer so their bodies touched, sharing their warmth and softness. Amethyst tangled her hands in Julianna's hair, gently tugging on the strands. Her hands traveled over her form, hands slipping beneath the fabric of her shirt.

Breathless, Julianna ended the embrace. "You win."

Amethyst's eyebrows arched once again. "Oh? I wasn't done yet."

"Okay.." Julianna flustered, her face heating up.

"Unless you don't want me to."

Julianna reconnected their embrace, wrapping her leg around her waist and leaning against her, making her fall over.

Amethyst laughed and stood back up, holding Julianna in her arms, with her legs wrapped around her. She planted kisses along her neck and her collarbone, her long blonde locks tickling her shoulders. She carried her back to the warp pad and carefully set her down, warping them back to the temple, and into her room.


	31. Chapter Thirty: Redemption

- **A Month Later** -

The olive gem stepped out of her pod and onto the ground, scanning the area for any humans with sharp eyes. All was still, the only motion the soft wind rustling the grass, minorly rearranging the pointed strands of her hair.

" _I suppose it wouldn't hurt to explore this place a little.."_ She deactivated her pod and began to walk. She crossed one arm over her abdomen, the other hanging loosely by her side as she made her way across the plains.

The sky slowly began to darken as she walked, grey clouds collecting overhead. She paid them no mind and continued along, until she reached the mouth of a canyon.

"So _this_ is the Kindergarten..." She mused in a condescending tone. "How primitive." She chuckled dryly and gazed down into it, cursing as it began to rain. Droplets cascaded from the sky down to her slender form, a strange and unfamiliar feeling washing over her.

"What the hell- oh." She looked up for a moment, and cupped her hands, examining the liquid substance. "It's just water." She let the water fall from her hands and started back towards her pod, her once neatly arranged hair falling into a soggy pile of strands atop her head, much to her disappointment. "Damn it." She grumbled, spitting water from her lips. "Stupid rain, screwing up everything." She stepped stood for a moment outside her pod. The water would damage the electronic equipment inside, more than likely, and she could repair it, but there was no point in going inside, and it was too dark to do much else. So, she leaned against the pod, standing there motionlessly as the skies drenched her.

"Screw this planet."

"This ancient gem technology is _useless_!" Peridot shouted in aggravation, throwing her hands up in the air.

"So why not acquire newer models?" Asked Robonoid A. "Would that not be the smartest option?"

"Who gave you the power to talk?!" Peridot snapped.

"You did." The robot answered matter of factly. "All my power comes from you."

Peridot rolled her eyes, too pissed off to bother with the robot. Her mission was a complete flop, and to make matters worse, the Crystal Gems had stolen Julianna, and instilled all kinds of thoughts in her head that she could make her own decisions, ruining five hundred years worth of work. She had no idea of her current location, so she couldn't locate her, which frustrated her to no end. She had ended the life of another gem to create her, and she would _not_ let that life go to waste, as she'd greatly endangered her own in the process.

The Kindergarten's equipment was all useless, too ancient to operate, ridden with glitches and coding errors. There was absolutely no way possible for Peridot to complete her mission. She would have to return to Homeworld and admit defeat, and that was to be avoided at all costs.

She hadn't realized she'd been speaking aloud until she heard a voice.

"Maybe you need a change of plans."

The rain finally began to subside, much to the olive gem's relief.

"Thank goddess." She muttered, thoroughly soaked. Water dripped down from her sopping hair to her broad shoulders and long arms, her clothing darkened from the moisture. She swore under her breath, blinking to readjust to the light as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds. She started back towards the Kindergarten, no longer needing to get inside her pod, as she had only gone in attempts of evading the storm. She figured the Peridot would likely be there, and she needed to form their alliance as soon as possible, in order to not be reprimanded by Blue Diamond.

She heard voices, and made her way towards them.

" _ **This entire mission is a flop!"**_

She scaled the cliffs and found an elevator, the voices getting stronger as she descended.

" _ **This ancient gem technology is useless!"**_

She located the mouth of the cave and stood in the entrance, observing the situation.

" _She's created newer Robonoids…"_ She thought to herself. " _Maybe she's smarter than we think.."_

She decided to make her presence known. "Maybe you need a change of plans." She declared.

The dropping of a pin could have been heard in the silence of the room. Peridot stood at the olive gem in shock, hardly believing what she saw.

" _P-Prasiolite…"_


	32. Epilogue: Stolen

The street lights glowed dimly as Connie walked down the sidewalk. It was after midnight, and she knew that it wasn't safe to be out, but she needed to clear her head. Talking with Cheryl the previous night had been helpful, but it had also put forth a lot of questions, and she needed the cold air to aid her thoughts. The dull ache of missing Steven burned in her chest, but she wouldn't let herself cry. Not anymore. She'd cried enough tears to last a lifetime in the past few weeks, and she was done.

The lighting grew even dimmer as Connie continued on. Worry twisted in her stomach, making her feel slightly nauseous.

" _Turn back!"_ Her mind screamed, but she ignored it. She forced one leg in front of the other, until her worries eventually silenced themselves. It was eerily quiet, not a single sound except for her footsteps and breath. The streets were entirely desolate, easing her thoughts until they subsided.

A sudden rustle of fabric destroyed her peace of mind, and she whirled around. Black, genderless forms rushed towards her, and she turned and tried to run, her feet pounding against the sidewalk. She didn't dare make a sound, in case she could outrun them and hide until they returned to wherever it was they'd come from. Adrenaline and terror coursed through her blood, all the horror stories of children and teenagers getting snatched off the streets she'd heard or read as a child coming back to her at once.

The shadowy figures were taller, their enduring build and height advantage making her attempts at escape futile.

Connie stumbled and fell to her knees, crying out as the figures tightly gripped her wrists, hauling her up off her feet. She flailed and kicked her legs in desperation, only hitting the empty space around her suspended figure. Her hands were forced behind her back metal restraints being slapped on and tightly locked. Tape was placed across her lips, a black drawstring bag thrown over her head, loosely tied at the neck. She struggled all the while, silently hoping and begging that someone would glance out of their bedroom window, or someone had heard her feeble efforts to escape her attackers.

But the street remained desolate.


	33. Announcement and Sequel Preview

Hey guys! Connor here. I just wanted to let you all know that the prequel, Beyond Homeworld Skies, is completed and, all of the chapters are now published. I also wanted to include a small preview of what's on a be going on in the sequel, Almost Human. Enjoy! :)

Garnet held the small gold band in her palms, a small smile on her face. She pulled the string out of her pocket that she'd tied to fit Pearl's finger and checked again, ensuring the ring was perfect size. She fused the small gemstones that she'd carefully selected onto the band, waiting for it to cool before taking a moment to admire it.

She took a deep breath to collect herself, not wanting to give her secret away. Garnet walked back to the temple, keeping the precious object safely enclosed in a small velvet box. She looked up at the sky, watching as the sun made its descent towards the sea. Her timing had been impeccable.

"Pearl?" She stepped into the house, hiding the box in her pocket.

"Yes?" Pearl asked, her eyes lighting up at the sight of her love.

"Could you come outside with me for a moment?"

"Of course." She stepped out the open door, making her way down the steps.

Steven and Amethyst gathered at the window, a grin plastered on Steven's face.

He wouldn't have to keep the secret anymore.

Garnet lead Pearl over to the water, standing in front of the waves, which just barely reached their feet. She held both of Pearl's hands in hers, then took a deep breath and knelt down on her left knee.

"Pearl," she spoke, "I know that gems don't usually do this. It's been a strictly human tradition for ages. But, we're almost human ourselves, we have been ever since we first came here. And I think it's best that we try to fit into their culture.

"I love you, Pearl. I have for a very long time, and I'll continue to do so for even longer. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And so, in the spirit of being human, will you marry me, Pearl?"

Shock came across the white gem's face, tears coming to her eyes when she finally made sense of the question. She nodded wordlessly, unable to speak from the surprise.

Garnet slid the ring onto her finger, smiling brightly as she watched her admire it.

"Garnet, where did you get this? It's mesmerizing…"

"I made it," She replied. "All of those solo missions I've been going on lately? They were missions to find the perfect gemstones for my queen."

Pearl threw her arms around Garnet's neck, pressing her lips up to hers in a depth of passion she'd never felt before.

"I don't have to be afraid you'll leave me anymore," she whispered upon pulling away, hugging her tighter.

"Pearl, you never did." Garnet answered in the same softness, holding her fiancée so there was no space left between them. She looked up to the window, smiling as she saw the huge grin on Steven's face, although Amethyst had moved away.


End file.
